Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Stock Price Breaks Above 50-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) shares passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.88 and traded as high as $61.19. Southern First Bancshares shares last traded at $61.03, with a volume of 77,366 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.00.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Down 0.1%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.10. The company has a market cap of $575.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The bank reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $37.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.60 million. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.39% and a net margin of 17.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern First Bancshares news, Director Leighton Cubbage sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $74,712.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 47,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,932,446. The trade was a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 4,115 shares of company stock worth $257,239 over the last quarter. Insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SFST. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Southern First Bancshares by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 32,129 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,904,000 after acquiring an additional 2,902 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 1,168.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 42,379 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,511,000 after purchasing an additional 39,038 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 8,062 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 103.7% in the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 2,455 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 20.2% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 92,581 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,486,000 after purchasing an additional 15,583 shares during the period. 75.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Southern First Bancshares

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina. Through its subsidiary, Southern First Bank, it provides commercial and consumer banking services to individuals, businesses and professionals. The bank offers business and personal deposit accounts, commercial and residential lending, mortgage services, and wealth management solutions. Its relationship-focused approach includes services tailored to business owners and other clients with complex financial needs.