Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ: SFST) from “hold” to “strong-buy,” while the overall analyst consensus remains “buy” with a $64.00 price target.
• The bank beat quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.20 per share versus $1.19 expected, though revenue came in well below forecasts at $20.40 million versus $36.30 million.
• Shares were trading near $60.55, and institutional investors own 75% of the company; recent filings also showed some insider selling by Director Leighton M. Cubbage.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern First Bancshares from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Southern First Bancshares from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.00.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

Southern First Bancshares stock opened at $60.55 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $59.46 and a 200-day moving average of $57.09. The firm has a market cap of $572.80 million, a P/E ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 0.67. Southern First Bancshares has a 1-year low of $38.30 and a 1-year high of $64.06.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.01. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 16.78%.The company had revenue of $20.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.30 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares will post 5.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 765 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total value of $46,359.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 50,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,073,329. This represents a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 6.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,143 shares of the bank's stock worth $662,000 after acquiring an additional 957 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 78.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 18,201 shares of the bank's stock valued at $992,000 after purchasing an additional 7,985 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the first quarter valued at approximately $398,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 9.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,241 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,282 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 55.0% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 15,615 shares of the bank's stock worth $851,000 after purchasing an additional 5,540 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.00% of the company's stock.

Southern First Bancshares Company Profile

Southern First Bancshares is the bank holding company for Southern First Bank, a community-oriented financial institution headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, the company delivers a full spectrum of commercial and consumer banking services designed to meet the needs of small and midsize businesses, professionals, and individual customers. Southern First Bancshares operates under a relationship-driven model, emphasizing personalized service and local decision–making.

The company's core offerings include deposit products such as checking, savings, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, alongside an array of lending solutions covering commercial real estate, construction, equipment financing and small business administration (SBA) loans.

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