Southern First Bancshares (SFST) Competitors $39.22 -0.41 (-1.03%) As of 12:59 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, FCBC, HOPE, IBCP, MBWM, OCFC, PPBI, 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), First Community Bancshares (FCBC), Hope Bancorp (HOPE), Independent Bank (IBCP), Mercantile Bank (MBWM), OceanFirst Financial (OCFC), Pacific Premier Bancorp (PPBI), 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 First Community Bancshares Hope Bancorp Independent Bank Mercantile Bank OceanFirst Financial Pacific Premier Bancorp S&T 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 earnings, risk, media sentiment, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends. Which has more volatility & risk, SFST or ABCB? Southern First Bancshares has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of 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 large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term. Does the media favor SFST or ABCB? In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 4 more articles in the media than Southern First Bancshares. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 4 mentions for Southern First Bancshares. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.15 beat Southern First Bancshares' score of 0.47 indicating that Ameris Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the news media. Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment Southern First Bancshares 0 Very Positive mention(s) 0 Positive mention(s) 3 Neutral mention(s) 0 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Neutral Ameris Bancorp 5 Very Positive mention(s) 1 Positive mention(s) 2 Neutral mention(s) 0 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Positive Is SFST or ABCB more profitable? Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Southern First Bancshares' net margin of 8.50%. 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 Bancshares8.50% 5.57% 0.44% Ameris Bancorp 21.46%9.57%1.32% Which has stronger valuation & 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$213.35M1.50$15.53M$2.2617.35Ameris Bancorp$1.12B4.09$358.68M$5.4012.35 Do analysts recommend SFST or ABCB? Southern First Bancshares presently has a consensus target price of $43.00, suggesting a potential upside of 9.64%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus target price of $71.43, suggesting a potential upside of 7.08%. Given Southern First Bancshares' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly 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) 0 Buy rating(s) 1 Strong Buy rating(s) 4.00Ameris Bancorp 0 Sell rating(s) 1 Hold rating(s) 6 Buy rating(s) 0 Strong Buy rating(s) 2.86 SummaryAmeris Bancorp beats Southern First Bancshares on 12 of the 17 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. Email Address 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$320.43M$1.96B$11.95B$9.35BDividend YieldN/A2.63%5.55%4.02%P/E Ratio17.3512.4019.0719.71Price / Sales1.502.6626.2875.42Price / Cash15.2612.4118.4927.56Price / Book0.971.212.285.59Net Income$15.53M$154.64M$996.83M$257.73M7 Day Performance-0.93%-0.20%-0.12%1.48%1 Month Performance9.68%7.88%3.72%11.34%1 Year Performance22.45%20.42%541.91%16.16% Southern First Bancshares Competitors List Export to ExcelCompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)SFSTSouthern First Bancshares1.7173 of 5 stars$39.22-1.0%$43.00+9.6%+30.0%$320.43M$213.35M17.35290News CoverageUpcoming EarningsABCBAmeris Bancorp3.3539 of 5 stars$67.04-1.0%$71.43+6.5%+25.0%$4.62B$1.12B12.872,850News CoveragePositive NewsFCBCFirst Community Bancshares3.2922 of 5 stars$40.74-2.5%N/A+6.2%$763.89M$185.53M14.71630News CoveragePositive NewsUpcoming EarningsHOPEHope Bancorp4.7708 of 5 stars$11.37-1.6%$13.50+18.7%+2.0%$1.48B$1.00B14.581,244News CoverageUpcoming EarningsIBCPIndependent Bank3.5521 of 5 stars$33.93-1.9%$36.67+8.1%+21.8%$716.94M$323.14M10.81920Positive NewsMBWMMercantile Bank3.2181 of 5 stars$48.96-1.7%$52.83+7.9%+16.3%$808.68M$361.89M10.16670Upcoming EarningsHigh Trading VolumeOCFCOceanFirst Financial3.8605 of 5 stars$18.49-1.5%$20.67+11.8%+11.5%$1.10B$379.09M12.09960PPBIPacific Premier Bancorp3.8672 of 5 stars$22.76-1.5%$27.25+19.7%-8.3%$2.24B$905.41M14.971,325News CoveragePositive NewsSTBAS&T Bancorp2.7113 of 5 stars$39.46-1.0%$41.67+5.6%+11.9%$1.53B$381.33M11.371,206Analyst DowngradeWSBCWesBanco4.9542 of 5 stars$33.33-1.1%$38.71+16.2%+12.8%$3.22B$649.20M21.782,195Positive NewsBYByline Bancorp3.7325 of 5 stars$28.05-1.2%$33.25+18.5%+11.8%$1.31B$624.78M10.391,027 Related Companies and Tools Related Companies ABCB Competitors FCBC Competitors HOPE Competitors IBCP Competitors MBWM Competitors OCFC Competitors PPBI 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 7/15/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff From Our PartnersINVESTOR ALERT: Tiny “$3 AI Wonder Stock” on the Verge of Blasting OffRight now, we’re witnessing a monumental shift in the world.Traders Agency | SponsoredGoogle did what!?!?A new technology has sparked a modern-day gold rush in Silicon Valley. 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