Southern First Bancshares (SFST) Competitors $45.34 +0.22 (+0.48%) As of 02:25 PM Eastern This is a fair market value 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, FMBH, HOPE, IBCP, MBWM, OCFC, PPBI, 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 Mid Bancshares (FMBH), Hope Bancorp (HOPE), Independent Bank (IBCP), Mercantile Bank (MBWM), OceanFirst Financial (OCFC), Pacific Premier Bancorp (PPBI), 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 Mid Bancshares Hope Bancorp Independent Bank Mercantile Bank OceanFirst Financial Pacific Premier Bancorp WesBanco Byline Bancorp Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) and Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and valuation. Which has better earnings and valuation, 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$213.35M1.74$15.53M$2.7016.79Ameris Bancorp$1.13B4.51$358.68M$5.6813.02 Which has more risk & volatility, SFST or ABCB? Southern First Bancshares has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Do analysts prefer SFST or ABCB? Southern First Bancshares presently has a consensus price target of $51.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.50%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus price target of $72.14, indicating a potential downside of 2.48%. Given Southern First Bancshares' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, 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) 0 Hold rating(s) 1 Buy rating(s) 0 Strong Buy rating(s) 3.00Ameris 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, Ameris Bancorp had 5 more articles in the media than Southern First Bancshares. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 3 mentions for Southern First Bancshares. Southern First Bancshares' average media sentiment score of 1.73 beat Ameris Bancorp's score of 1.57 indicating that Southern First Bancshares is being referred to more favorably in the media. Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment Southern First Bancshares 2 Very Positive mention(s) 0 Positive mention(s) 0 Neutral mention(s) 0 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Very Positive Ameris Bancorp 7 Very Positive mention(s) 1 Positive mention(s) 0 Neutral mention(s) 0 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Very Positive 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% Do insiders and institutionals believe 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 company insiders. Comparatively, 5.5% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments 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. 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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$370.84M$2.04B$12.45B$9.78BDividend YieldN/A2.59%5.44%4.04%P/E Ratio16.7912.0319.4626.44Price / Sales1.742.7326.3587.02Price / Cash17.3812.8522.1059.11Price / Book1.071.212.356.65Net Income$15.53M$156.23M$1.01B$265.42M7 Day Performance8.04%3.86%1.95%3.60%1 Month Performance2.17%3.40%1.74%0.58%1 Year Performance44.24%18.95%540.87%19.65% Southern First Bancshares Competitors List Export to ExcelCompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)SFSTSouthern First Bancshares3.7946 of 5 stars$45.34+0.5%$51.00+12.5%+41.8%$370.84M$213.35M16.79290News CoveragePositive NewsABCBAmeris Bancorp2.9757 of 5 stars$71.88-0.2%$72.14+0.4%+19.4%$4.93B$1.13B13.802,850Positive NewsCNOBConnectOne Bancorp4.6064 of 5 stars$25.03-1.8%$30.25+20.9%+2.0%$1.28B$534.62M28.77520News CoveragePositive NewsFMBHFirst Mid Bancshares2.782 of 5 stars$39.82-0.8%$43.33+8.8%+1.1%$963.25M$453.67M11.311,198News CoveragePositive NewsHOPEHope Bancorp4.7291 of 5 stars$11.00-0.3%$13.25+20.5%-13.5%$1.41B$1.00B31.431,244Positive NewsIBCPIndependent Bank3.6257 of 5 stars$32.72-0.3%$36.00+10.0%-2.3%$679.48M$323.14M10.66920News CoveragePositive NewsMBWMMercantile Bank3.9612 of 5 stars$49.14-0.7%$55.25+12.4%+8.8%$804.31M$361.89M9.75670News CoveragePositive NewsOCFCOceanFirst Financial4.4977 of 5 stars$18.10-0.8%$20.67+14.2%+2.7%$1.05B$692.36M12.84960News CoveragePositive NewsPPBIPacific Premier Bancorp3.6129 of 5 stars$24.300.0%$27.50+13.2%-6.1%$2.36B$905.41M17.111,325Positive NewsWSBCWesBanco4.8943 of 5 stars$32.36-1.4%$38.83+20.0%+0.7%$3.15B$953.62M19.492,195Positive NewsDividend AnnouncementBYByline Bancorp4.1499 of 5 stars$28.76-0.6%$33.25+15.6%+6.0%$1.33B$624.78M10.731,027News Coverage Related Companies and Tools Related Companies ABCB Competitors CNOB Competitors FMBH Competitors HOPE Competitors IBCP Competitors MBWM Competitors OCFC Competitors PPBI 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 8/27/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff From Our PartnersMusk’s Project Colossus could mint millionairesI predict this single breakthrough could make Elon the world’s first trillionaire — and mint more new milliona...Brownstone Research | SponsoredBONUS GUIDE - Ben Stein Prepares For the Next Financial CrisisWith inflation high, debt soaring, and global tensions rising, a financial storm may be brewing. 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