Wellington Management Group LLP Purchases Shares of 49,465 Southern First Bancshares, Inc. $SFST

Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 49,465 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $3,022,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $50,736,000. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in Southern First Bancshares during the second quarter worth $10,998,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Southern First Bancshares in the second quarter worth $5,619,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Southern First Bancshares in the second quarter worth $5,343,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 215.6% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 50,451 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,599,000 after purchasing an additional 34,466 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SFST shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research lowered Southern First Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.00.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFST opened at $63.42 on Friday. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.90 and a 1 year high of $65.09. The company has a market capitalization of $599.95 million, a P/E ratio of 13.58 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.74.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $20.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.30 million. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 10.18%. On average, analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern First Bancshares

In related news, CAO Julie Fairchild sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $94,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $327,600. This represents a 22.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Leighton Cubbage sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $74,712.00. Following the sale, the director owned 47,100 shares in the company, valued at $2,932,446. The trade was a 2.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 5,868 shares of company stock valued at $366,737 over the last quarter. 6.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern First Bancshares Company Profile

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.