Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Director Sells $14,997.84 in Stock

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Director Ray Lattimore sold 253 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.28, for a total value of $14,997.84. Following the sale, the director owned 1,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,808.56. The trade was a 18.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFST opened at $62.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business’s 50 day moving average is $60.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.44. The company has a market cap of $590.30 million, a P/E ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 0.67. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.30 and a 12 month high of $64.06.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.01. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 16.78%.The company had revenue of $20.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.30 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.45 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 39.7% during the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 60,578 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,121,000 after acquiring an additional 17,228 shares during the period. Azora Capital LP acquired a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth about $645,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 89.2% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 24,495 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 11,545 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 17.7% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 150,607 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,208,000 after purchasing an additional 22,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,143 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $662,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on SFST shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.00.

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.