Southern First Bancshares (SFST) Competitors $43.83 -0.65 (-1.46%) Closing price 04:00 PM EasternExtended Trading$43.78 -0.05 (-0.10%) As of 04:10 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, MBWM, OCFC, 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), Mercantile Bank (MBWM), OceanFirst Financial (OCFC), 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 Mercantile Bank OceanFirst Financial WesBanco Byline Bancorp Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) and Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, media sentiment, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and institutional ownership. Is ABCB or SFST 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 Ameris Bancorp21.46% 9.57% 1.32% Southern First Bancshares 10.09%6.52%0.52% Do institutionals and insiders believe in ABCB or SFST? 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.0% of Southern First Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.1% of Southern First Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth. Which has more volatility & risk, ABCB or SFST? Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.97, indicating that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Southern First Bancshares has a beta of 0.84, indicating that its stock price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Do analysts recommend ABCB or SFST? Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $72.14, indicating a potential downside of 2.17%. Southern First Bancshares has a consensus price target of $51.00, indicating a potential upside of 16.36%. Given Southern First Bancshares' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Southern First Bancshares is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Ameris Bancorp 0 Sell rating(s) 1 Hold rating(s) 6 Buy rating(s) 0 Strong Buy rating(s) 2.86Southern First Bancshares 0 Sell rating(s) 0 Hold rating(s) 1 Buy rating(s) 0 Strong Buy rating(s) 3.00 Which has preferable earnings & valuation, ABCB or SFST? 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 RatioAmeris Bancorp$1.13B4.49$358.68M$5.6812.98Southern First Bancshares$213.35M1.68$15.53M$2.7016.23 Does the media refer more to ABCB or SFST? In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 9 more articles in the media than Southern First Bancshares. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 1 mentions for Southern First Bancshares. Southern First Bancshares' average media sentiment score of 1.89 beat Ameris Bancorp's score of 1.34 indicating that Southern First Bancshares is being referred to more favorably in the news media. Company Overall Sentiment Ameris Bancorp Positive Southern First Bancshares Very Positive 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$358.53M$1.97B$12.68B$10.27BDividend YieldN/A2.58%5.41%4.60%P/E Ratio16.2311.78246.5526.51Price / Sales1.682.7631.21165.32Price / Cash17.4712.9219.2529.89Price / Book1.081.232.326.32Net Income$15.53M$156.23M$1.01B$270.51M7 Day Performance-1.75%-1.09%0.48%2.15%1 Month Performance5.74%2.71%3.00%6.35%1 Year Performance28.91%16.93%541.09%25.48% Southern First Bancshares Competitors List Export to ExcelCompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)SFSTSouthern First Bancshares3.7758 of 5 stars$43.83-1.5%$51.00+16.4%+32.1%$358.53M$213.35M16.23290Positive NewsABCBAmeris Bancorp3.5925 of 5 stars$73.46-0.8%$72.14-1.8%+21.3%$5.08B$1.13B14.102,850Positive NewsDividend AnnouncementCNOBConnectOne Bancorp4.92 of 5 stars$25.70+0.5%$30.25+17.7%+1.5%$1.29B$288.35M29.54520Positive NewsFCBCFirst Community Bancshares2.8891 of 5 stars$37.83+0.7%N/A-13.7%$687.91M$185.53M13.86630Positive NewsFMBHFirst Mid Bancshares3.6925 of 5 stars$40.59+1.2%$43.33+6.8%+0.2%$962.77M$453.67M11.531,198Short Interest ↓HOPEHope Bancorp4.9033 of 5 stars$11.17+0.4%$13.25+18.6%-12.4%$1.43B$444.74M31.911,244Positive NewsIBCPIndependent Bank3.9496 of 5 stars$32.94+0.4%$36.00+9.3%-6.0%$679.69M$323.14M10.73920Positive NewsMBWMMercantile Bank4.1952 of 5 stars$48.56-0.2%$55.25+13.8%+7.5%$790.98M$361.89M9.63670Positive NewsOCFCOceanFirst Financial4.5006 of 5 stars$18.27-0.4%$20.67+13.1%+1.2%$1.05B$692.36M12.96960WSBCWesBanco4.9692 of 5 stars$32.13-0.5%$38.83+20.9%+1.7%$3.10B$762.17M19.362,195Positive NewsAnalyst UpgradeBYByline Bancorp4.2651 of 5 stars$29.40+1.6%$33.25+13.1%+8.2%$1.33B$624.78M10.971,027News CoveragePositive NewsShort Interest ↓ Related Companies and Tools Related Companies ABCB Competitors CNOB Competitors FCBC Competitors FMBH Competitors HOPE Competitors IBCP Competitors MBWM Competitors OCFC 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 9/16/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff From Our PartnersFanatics Hit $31B-Is This Nasdaq Next?Fanatics built an empire by owning the fan experience-scaling to a $31B valuation. But the next wave isn't abo...i2i Marketing Group, LLC | SponsoredWhy More Investors Are Using Family Trusts to Protect Their WealthFor many investors, a family trust can be an essential tool for protecting assets, avoiding probate, and ensur...SmartAsset | SponsoredClaim Your Share of $5.39 BILLION in AI Equity ChecksThe U.S. government just took advantage of Public Law 81-774 to crack down on AI companies... In turn, enfo...Angel Publishing | SponsoredFree: The Crypto Summit That Could Change Your LifeWall Street’s Crypto Playbook—Revealed at This Free Event If you want to understand what's really happening...Crypto 101 Media | SponsoredForget NVDA. Put $1,000 into this stock nowA massive money shift is underway in the AI market. And it's opening up an extraordinary opportunity in a NEW ...Chaikin Analytics | SponsoredIRS Wants Another Check on Sept 15th—What If You Could Keep It Instead?On September 15th, the IRS collects another round of quarterly tax payments—targeting self-employed profession...American Alternative | SponsoredOpenAI’s new $300 billion dealOpenAI just signed a $300 billion cloud deal with Oracle to secure the computing power needed for its next Cha...Porter & Company | SponsoredCollege grad makes $64,000 a monthA Wall Street legend just helped train our own proprietary AI system in the stock market (a project that took ...Stansberry Research | Sponsored Adding Choose a watchlist: Watchlist Adding You have already added ten stocks to your watchlist. Upgrade to MarketBeat All Access to add more stocks to your watchlist. Adding Southern First Bancshares, Inc. Please log in to your account or sign up in order to add this asset to your watchlist. Share Southern First Bancshares With A Colleague Link copied to clipboard. Get 30 Days of MarketBeat All Access for Free Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools. Start Your 30-Day Trial MarketBeat All Access Features Best-in-Class Portfolio Monitoring Get personalized stock ideas. Compare portfolio to indices. Check stock news, ratings, SEC filings, and more. Stock Ideas and Recommendations See daily stock ideas from top analysts. Receive short-term trading ideas from MarketBeat. Identify trending stocks on social media. Advanced Stock Screeners and Research Tools Use our seven stock screeners to find suitable stocks. Stay informed with MarketBeat's real-time news. Export data to Excel for personal analysis. Sign in to your free account to enjoy these benefits In-depth profiles and analysis for 20,000 public companies. Real-time analyst ratings, insider transactions, earnings data, and more. Our daily ratings and market update email newsletter. Sign in to your free account to enjoy all that MarketBeat has to offer. Sign In Create Account Your Email Address: Email Address Required Your Password: Password Required Log In or Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Google Forgot your password? Your Email Address: Please enter your email address. Please enter a valid email address Choose a Password: Please enter your password. Your password must be at least 8 characters long and contain at least 1 number, 1 letter, and 1 special character. Create My Account (Free) or Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Google By creating a free account, you agree to our terms of service. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Free SFST Stock Alerts