Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 436,399 shares, a growth of 129.0% from the June 15th total of 190,554 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 204,632 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 5.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern First Bancshares has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.00.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFST traded up $1.89 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $63.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 109,114 shares, compared to its average volume of 112,367. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Southern First Bancshares has a 52 week low of $38.30 and a 52 week high of $64.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $58.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $602.51 million, a PE ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 0.67.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The bank reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.01). Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.21% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The business had revenue of $32.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.10 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern First Bancshares will post 5.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Southern First Bancshares

In other news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 765 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total transaction of $46,359.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 50,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,073,329. The trade was a 1.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 40.2% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 666 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 28.7% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,380 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 154.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,633 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the second quarter worth about $75,000. Institutional investors own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

About Southern First Bancshares

Southern First Bancshares is the bank holding company for Southern First Bank, a community-oriented financial institution headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, the company delivers a full spectrum of commercial and consumer banking services designed to meet the needs of small and midsize businesses, professionals, and individual customers. Southern First Bancshares operates under a relationship-driven model, emphasizing personalized service and local decision–making.

The company’s core offerings include deposit products such as checking, savings, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, alongside an array of lending solutions covering commercial real estate, construction, equipment financing and small business administration (SBA) loans.