Julie Ann Fairchild Sells 1,500 Shares of Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Stock

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) CAO Julie Ann Fairchild sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 22.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFST opened at $64.18 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.04. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.75 and a fifty-two week high of $64.97. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.69. The company has a market capitalization of $607.14 million, a PE ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 0.68.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SFST. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 2.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,814 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,052,000 after purchasing an additional 10,741 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 380,368 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $20,730,000 after buying an additional 2,657 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in Southern First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,998,000. State Street Corp increased its position in Southern First Bancshares by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 164,986 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,500,000 after buying an additional 4,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 150,607 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,208,000 after buying an additional 22,700 shares during the period. 75.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research raised Southern First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a report on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern First Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.