Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

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

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on SFST. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern First Bancshares from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.00.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFST opened at $63.03 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $596.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50 day moving average of $61.63 and a 200-day moving average of $58.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Southern First Bancshares has a 1-year low of $40.90 and a 1-year high of $65.09.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $20.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.30 million. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 10.18%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southern First Bancshares will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Southern First Bancshares

In other news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 765 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total transaction of $46,359.00. Following the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Julie Ann Fairchild sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $94,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $327,600. This represents a 22.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,518 shares of company stock valued at $155,857. Insiders own 6.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 40.2% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 666 shares of the bank's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the second quarter valued at about $54,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the second quarter valued at about $75,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Southern First Bancshares by 28.7% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,380 shares of the bank's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. 75.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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