ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) Share Price Crosses Above 50 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)’s share price passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $79.13 and traded as high as $79.91. ServisFirst Bancshares shares last traded at $79.5630, with a volume of 221,497 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SFBS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $89.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Hovde Group lifted their price target on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ServisFirst Bancshares presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.67.

ServisFirst Bancshares Trading Down 2.0%

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.42. The company has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $162.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $151.82 million. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 26.95% and a return on equity of 16.36%. On average, equities analysts predict that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 1st. ServisFirst Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 30.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ServisFirst Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,541,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 514,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,409,000 after acquiring an additional 48,993 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 127.8% in the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 33,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,693,000 after acquiring an additional 18,760 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 26.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 962,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,483,000 after acquiring an additional 199,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 5.1% in the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,696,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $217,130,000 after acquiring an additional 129,732 shares in the last quarter. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ServisFirst Bancshares

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, and the parent of ServisFirst Bank. The company specializes in commercial banking services, catering primarily to small and mid-sized businesses, professionals and entrepreneurs. Its product portfolio encompasses commercial real estate lending, commercial and industrial loans, deposit accounts, treasury management and other ancillary banking products designed to meet the financial needs of its clients.

ServisFirst Bank offers a full suite of deposit products, including interest-bearing checking, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, as well as a variety of loan products.