Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Southern First Bancshares from $54.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.00.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of SFST stock opened at $58.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $480.67 million, a PE ratio of 15.69 and a beta of 0.77. Southern First Bancshares has a 52-week low of $29.14 and a 52-week high of $61.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $54.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The company had revenue of $1.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Southern First Bancshares will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David G. Ellison sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.28, for a total value of $53,280.00. Following the sale, the director owned 49,661 shares in the company, valued at $2,645,938.08. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 7.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 40.2% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 666 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 29,400 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,515,000 after buying an additional 3,900 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 39.7% in the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 60,578 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,121,000 after acquiring an additional 17,228 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at about $115,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 26.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,760 shares of the bank’s stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 1,623 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

About Southern First Bancshares

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.