Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The bank reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.01), Zacks reports. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.21% and a return on equity of 9.81%. The business had revenue of $33.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.10 million.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFST opened at $56.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $467.50 million, a P/E ratio of 13.24 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Southern First Bancshares has a 1-year low of $33.00 and a 1-year high of $62.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research cut Southern First Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Southern First Bancshares from $54.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Southern First Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Southern First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern First Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Silvia T. King sold 2,625 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.49, for a total transaction of $158,786.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,721.87. This trade represents a 39.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Southern First Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,814 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,052,000 after acquiring an additional 10,741 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 377,711 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,460,000 after acquiring an additional 2,329 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 164,986 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,500,000 after acquiring an additional 4,302 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 127,907 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,590,000 after acquiring an additional 10,900 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 77,980 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,018,000 after acquiring an additional 7,882 shares during the period. 75.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.