Southern First Bancshares (SFST) Competitors $41.50 -1.28 (-2.99%) Closing price 04:00 PM EasternExtended Trading$41.47 -0.03 (-0.07%) As of 04:04 PM Eastern Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Polygon.io. Learn more. Add Compare Share Share Competitors Stock AnalysisAnalyst ForecastsChartCompetitorsEarningsFinancialsHeadlinesInsider TradesOptions ChainOwnershipSEC FilingsShort InterestTrendsBuy This Stock SFST vs. ABCB, CNOB, FCBC, FMBH, HOPE, IBCP, OCFC, STBA, WSBC, and BYShould you be buying Southern First Bancshares stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of Southern First Bancshares include Ameris Bancorp (ABCB), ConnectOne Bancorp (CNOB), First Community Bancshares (FCBC), First Mid Bancshares (FMBH), Hope Bancorp (HOPE), Independent Bank (IBCP), OceanFirst Financial (OCFC), S&T Bancorp (STBA), WesBanco (WSBC), and Byline Bancorp (BY). These companies are all part of the "finance" sector. Southern First Bancshares vs. Its Competitors Ameris Bancorp ConnectOne Bancorp First Community Bancshares First Mid Bancshares Hope Bancorp Independent Bank OceanFirst Financial S&T Bancorp WesBanco Byline Bancorp Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) and Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, media sentiment, dividends, valuation and earnings. Is SFST or ABCB more profitable? Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Southern First Bancshares' net margin of 10.09%. Ameris Bancorp's return on equity of 9.57% beat Southern First Bancshares' return on equity.Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Southern First Bancshares10.09% 6.52% 0.52% Ameris Bancorp 21.46%9.57%1.32% Which has better valuation and earnings, SFST or ABCB? Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Southern First Bancshares. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Southern First Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings RatioSouthern First Bancshares$104.10M3.26$15.53M$2.7015.37Ameris Bancorp$1.13B4.34$358.68M$5.6812.53 Which has more volatility & risk, SFST or ABCB? Southern First Bancshares has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.94, meaning that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Do analysts prefer SFST or ABCB? Southern First Bancshares currently has a consensus target price of $51.00, suggesting a potential upside of 22.89%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus target price of $72.14, suggesting a potential upside of 1.34%. Given Southern First Bancshares' higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Southern First Bancshares is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Southern First Bancshares 0 Sell rating(s) 2 Hold rating(s) 1 Buy rating(s) 0 Strong Buy rating(s) 2.33Ameris Bancorp 0 Sell rating(s) 1 Hold rating(s) 6 Buy rating(s) 0 Strong Buy rating(s) 2.86 Does the media refer more to SFST or ABCB? In the previous week, Southern First Bancshares had 4 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for Southern First Bancshares and 0 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. Southern First Bancshares' average media sentiment score of 1.08 beat Ameris Bancorp's score of 0.00 indicating that Southern First Bancshares is being referred to more favorably in the media. Company Overall Sentiment Southern First Bancshares Positive Ameris Bancorp Neutral Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in SFST or ABCB? 75.0% of Southern First Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 7.1% of Southern First Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth. SummaryAmeris Bancorp beats Southern First Bancshares on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks. Get Southern First Bancshares News Delivered to You Automatically Sign up to receive the latest news and ratings for SFST and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter. Subscribe Now View SMS TermsBy entering your phone number and clicking the sign-up button, you agree to receive periodic text messages from MarketBeat at the phone number you submitted, including texts that may be sent using an automatic telephone dialing system. Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency will vary. Messages will consist of stock alerts, news stories, and partner advertisements/offers. Consent is not a condition of the purchase of any goods or services. Text HELP for help/customer support. Unsubscribe at any time by replying "STOP" to any text message that you receive from MarketBeat or by visiting our mailing preferences page. Read our full terms of service and privacy policy. New MarketBeat Followers Over TimeWhat are MarkeBeat Followers?This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding SFST and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period. Skip ChartMedia Sentiment Over TimeWhat is Media Sentiment?This chart shows the average media sentiment of NASDAQ and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.Skip Chart SFST vs. The Competition Export to ExcelMetricSouthern First BancsharesBANKS IndustryFinance SectorNASDAQ ExchangeMarket Cap$339.51M$1.87B$12.37B$10.23BDividend YieldN/A2.65%5.54%4.69%P/E Ratio15.3711.1829.7626.57Price / Sales3.262.8130.39179.26Price / Cash16.8612.5822.5862.20Price / Book1.021.162.236.53Net Income$15.53M$158.22M$1.02B$275.96M7 Day Performance-5.51%-2.89%-1.75%-1.40%1 Month Performance-6.26%-3.97%-1.41%5.16%1 Year Performance21.56%11.87%537.05%31.55% Southern First Bancshares Competitors List Export to ExcelCompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)SFSTSouthern First Bancshares3.667 of 5 stars$41.50-3.0%$51.00+22.9%+25.6%$339.51M$104.10M15.37290News CoveragePositive NewsAnalyst ForecastABCBAmeris Bancorp3.2117 of 5 stars$74.88flat$72.14-3.7%+21.6%$5.14B$1.13B14.372,850CNOBConnectOne Bancorp4.8277 of 5 stars$26.52+0.9%$30.25+14.1%+1.0%$1.33B$534.62M30.48520Positive NewsAnalyst ForecastFCBCFirst Community Bancshares2.2551 of 5 stars$34.45+0.2%N/A-20.1%$630.95M$155.52M12.62630News CoverageAnalyst ForecastFMBHFirst Mid Bancshares4.0154 of 5 stars$37.77+0.4%$43.33+14.7%-2.8%$906.50M$453.67M10.731,198News CoverageAnalyst ForecastHOPEHope Bancorp4.8857 of 5 stars$11.21+0.8%$13.25+18.3%-11.3%$1.44B$1.00B32.011,244Analyst ForecastIBCPIndependent Bank3.8529 of 5 stars$31.88+1.3%$36.00+12.9%-3.3%$660.17M$216.12M10.38920News CoverageAnalyst ForecastOCFCOceanFirst Financial4.1894 of 5 stars$18.10+0.6%$20.67+14.2%+2.3%$1.04B$692.36M12.84960News CoveragePositive NewsUpcoming EarningsAnalyst ForecastSTBAS&T Bancorp3.9872 of 5 stars$37.79+0.2%$42.00+11.1%-7.1%$1.45B$564.96M11.081,206Analyst ForecastWSBCWesBanco4.9684 of 5 stars$33.48+0.1%$38.83+16.0%+14.0%$3.21B$953.62M20.172,195Analyst ForecastBYByline Bancorp4.198 of 5 stars$28.26+0.4%$33.25+17.7%+8.3%$1.30B$416.19M10.541,027Analyst Forecast Related Companies and Tools Related Companies ABCB Competitors CNOB Competitors FCBC Competitors FMBH Competitors HOPE Competitors IBCP Competitors OCFC Competitors STBA Competitors WSBC Competitors BY Competitors Top 10 Stock Comparisons Semiconductor Stocks Artificial Intelligence Stocks Growth Stocks Magnificent Seven Stocks Pharmaceutical Stocks Ecommerce Stocks Bitcoin Stocks Meme Stocks Cryptocurrency Stocks Cybersecurity Stocks This page (NASDAQ:SFST) was last updated on 10/10/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff From Our PartnersBitcoin grabs headlines, but smart money likes this tokenIf you're a futures trader (or want to be one), this could be the biggest shift you'll ever see in the prop fi...Neuro Street Trading Academy | SponsoredURGENT: The Market's 3 Red Flags Are FlashingHere’s the uncomfortable truth: The smartest investors in the world are already preparing for a crash befor...StockEarnings | Sponsored$15 Fund: Turn Gold Boom into Real IncomeIf you've been watching gold's historic run and wondering if it's too late… I've got good news. 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