Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) shares hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $62.20 and last traded at $61.9440, with a volume of 67483 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $61.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. 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. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern First Bancshares has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.00.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $57.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $584.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.40 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The bank reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $32.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.10 million. Equities research analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SFST. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Southern First Bancshares by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 34,910 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 890 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Southern First Bancshares by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 66,603 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,193,000 after purchasing an additional 3,074 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Southern First Bancshares by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,637 shares of the bank’s stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 3,532 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the first quarter valued at about $303,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 14.2% in the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 41,850 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,592,000 after acquiring an additional 5,200 shares in the last quarter. 75.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.