Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 421,300 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,249 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 5.16% of Southern First Bancshares worth $16,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 37.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,066 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,041 shares of the bank’s stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 12,506 shares of the bank’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 813 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 136.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,518 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 8,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,105 shares of the bank’s stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. 75.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern First Bancshares Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of Southern First Bancshares stock opened at $31.02 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.05. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.98 and a 12-month high of $45.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $253.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 0.73.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.29. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 4.85% and a net margin of 7.28%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Southern First Bancshares

Southern First Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Southern First Bank that provides commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans to the general public in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. The company accepts various deposit products that include checking accounts, commercial checking accounts, and savings accounts, as well as other time deposits, including daily money market accounts and long-term certificates of deposit.