Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on SFST. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Southern First Bancshares from $54.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern First Bancshares presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.00.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ SFST opened at $55.25 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $55.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Southern First Bancshares has a 1 year low of $29.14 and a 1 year high of $62.00. The company has a market cap of $454.76 million, a PE ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 0.74.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.90 million. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 8.63%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Southern First Bancshares will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Silvia T. King sold 2,625 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.49, for a total transaction of $158,786.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,963 shares in the company, valued at $239,721.87. The trade was a 39.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 7.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 40.2% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 666 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 28.7% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,380 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 154.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,633 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 111.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 903 shares during the last quarter. 75.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.