Southern First Bancshares (SFST) Competitors

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) and First of Long Island (NASDAQ:FLIC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, media sentiment, community ranking, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability and earnings.

Does the media favor SFST or FLIC?

In the previous week, Southern First Bancshares had 5 more articles in the media than First of Long Island. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for Southern First Bancshares and 0 mentions for First of Long Island. Southern First Bancshares' average media sentiment score of 0.12 beat First of Long Island's score of -0.32 indicating that Southern First Bancshares is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Southern First Bancshares	Neutral
First of Long Island	Neutral

Do analysts rate SFST or FLIC?

Southern First Bancshares presently has a consensus price target of $44.00, indicating a potential upside of 57.20%. Given Southern First Bancshares' higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Southern First Bancshares is more favorable than First of Long Island.

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)	3.00
First of Long Island	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	N/A

Which has better earnings and valuation, SFST or FLIC?

First of Long Island has higher revenue and earnings than Southern First Bancshares. First of Long Island 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.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Southern First Bancshares	$86.36M	2.64	$13.43M	$1.64	17.07
First of Long Island	$91.25M	2.63	$26.24M	$1.08	9.88

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in SFST or FLIC?

75.0% of Southern First Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.3% of First of Long Island shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.6% of Southern First Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.3% of First of Long Island shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is SFST or FLIC more profitable?

First of Long Island has a net margin of 14.14% compared to Southern First Bancshares' net margin of 6.69%. First of Long Island's return on equity of 6.59% beat Southern First Bancshares' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Southern First Bancshares	6.69%	4.30%	0.33%
First of Long Island	14.14%	6.59%	0.57%

Which has more risk and volatility, SFST or FLIC?

Southern First Bancshares has a beta of 0.82, meaning that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First of Long Island has a beta of 0.66, meaning that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer SFST or FLIC?

First of Long Island received 6 more outperform votes than Southern First Bancshares when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 53.49% of users gave Southern First Bancshares an outperform vote while only 52.03% of users gave First of Long Island an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Southern First Bancshares	Outperform Votes 199 53.49%	Underperform Votes 173 46.51%
First of Long Island	Outperform Votes 205 52.03%	Underperform Votes 189 47.97%

Summary

Southern First Bancshares beats First of Long Island on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.