Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Shares Pass Above 50 Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Southern First Bancshares' stock rose above its fifty-day moving average, reaching a high of $41.89 before closing at $40.40.
• Analysts at Piper Sandler upgraded their price target from $43.00 to $51.00 for the company, reflecting a positive outlook.
• During the last quarter, Southern First Bancshares reported earnings of $0.81 per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.65.

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $39.09 and traded as high as $41.89. Southern First Bancshares shares last traded at $40.40, with a volume of 15,915 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Southern First Bancshares from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Down 2.1%

The company has a market cap of $339.10 million, a P/E ratio of 15.35 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $39.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.26.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $28.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.80 million. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 6.52%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 1,083 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.72, for a total transaction of $38,684.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 51,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,829,042.60. This trade represents a 2.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 7.06% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 84.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 26,769 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,064,000 after buying an additional 12,251 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in Southern First Bancshares by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 7,506 shares of the bank's stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its position in Southern First Bancshares by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 33,041 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,313,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Southern First Bancshares by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 350,875 shares of the bank's stock worth $13,947,000 after purchasing an additional 10,854 shares during the period. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Southern First Bancshares by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 797,043 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,683,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026 shares during the period. 75.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern First Bancshares Company Profile

Southern First Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Southern First Bank that provides commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans to the general public in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. The company accepts various deposit products that include checking accounts, commercial checking accounts, and savings accounts, as well as other time deposits, including daily money market accounts and long-term certificates of deposit.