Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. $SFBS

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 185,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,750 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned about 0.34% of ServisFirst Bancshares worth $14,363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in the second quarter worth $30,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 52.8% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares in the first quarter valued at $171,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth $204,000. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of ServisFirst Bancshares stock opened at $71.13 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.48 and a 52 week high of $98.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $74.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.23 and a beta of 0.87.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 10th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $104.27 million during the quarter. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 25.24% and a return on equity of 15.67%. Research analysts forecast that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st were issued a dividend of $0.335 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. ServisFirst Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on SFBS shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on ServisFirst Bancshares from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Raymond James Financial raised shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Hovde Group reduced their price objective on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.67.

ServisFirst Bancshares Profile

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for ServisFirst Bank that provides various banking services to individual and corporate customers. It accepts demand, time, savings, and other deposits; checking, money market, and IRA accounts; and certificates of deposit. The company's loan products include commercial lending products, including seasonal, bridge, and term loans for working capital, expansion of the business, acquisition of property, and plant and equipment, as well as commercial lines of credit; commercial real estate loans, construction and development loans, and residential real estate loans; and consumer loans, such as home equity loans, vehicle financing, loans secured by deposits, and secured and unsecured personal loans.