Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 16,466 Shares of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. $SFST

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) by 53.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,518 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 16,466 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.18% of Southern First Bancshares worth $641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 28.7% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,380 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Southern First Bancshares by 154.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,633 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 990 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the second quarter valued at about $75,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the second quarter worth about $231,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 44.8% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 8,535 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 2,639 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Southern First Bancshares

In related news, Director David G. Ellison sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.28, for a total transaction of $53,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 49,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,645,938.08. This represents a 1.97% 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. Insiders have acquired a total of 525 shares of company stock valued at $23,011 over the last quarter. 7.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SFST. Zacks Research raised shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.00.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFST opened at $52.98 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.14 and a twelve month high of $56.73. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $48.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.23. The firm has a market cap of $433.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40 and a beta of 0.76.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The bank reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.18. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 7.63% and a net margin of 11.83%.The company had revenue of $31.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.20 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern First Bancshares Company Profile

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.