DA Davidson Lowers Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) to Neutral

DA Davidson downgraded shares of Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST – Get Rating) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. DA Davidson currently has $50.00 price target on the bank’s stock, down from their prior price target of $52.00.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of SFST opened at $44.00 on Monday. Southern First Bancshares has a 1 year low of $41.83 and a 1 year high of $65.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $351.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.59 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $44.50 and a 200-day moving average of $49.55.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 26th. The bank reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.18). Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 15.05% and a net margin of 36.78%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Southern First Bancshares will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern First Bancshares news, Director Terry Grayson-Caprio bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $42.58 per share, with a total value of $42,580.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,799.20. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 7.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new stake in Southern First Bancshares in the first quarter valued at approximately $51,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $132,000. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA lifted its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 58.2% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 2,676 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 984 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 55.7% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 3,316 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 9.8% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,032 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.90% of the company’s stock.

Southern First Bancshares Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Southern First Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Southern First Bank that provides various banking products and services to general public in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. It operates through three segments: Commercial and Retail Banking, Mortgage Banking, and Corporate Operations.