Northern Trust Corp Purchases 2,560 Shares of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST)

Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 79,280 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,560 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.97% of Southern First Bancshares worth $3,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SFST. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 35.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,041 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors boosted its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 5,725 shares of the bank’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 7,506 shares of the bank’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 136.9% in the 3rd 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, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 12,506 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 813 shares during the last quarter. 75.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William Iv Maner acquired 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $36.15 per share, for a total transaction of $25,305.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,700 shares in the company, valued at $97,605. This represents a 35.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 7.06% of the company’s stock.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFST opened at $35.95 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $293.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.72 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.91. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $25.81 and a one year high of $45.91.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $26.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.56 million. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 4.85%. Research analysts predict that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern First Bancshares Company Profile

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.