Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Short Interest Up 33.9% in February

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 81,851 shares, a growth of 33.9% from the February 12th total of 61,136 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 68,835 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 68,835 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SFST. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Southern First Bancshares by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,814 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,052,000 after acquiring an additional 10,741 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Southern First Bancshares by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 377,711 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,460,000 after acquiring an additional 2,329 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 2.2% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 180,585 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,870,000 after purchasing an additional 3,825 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 164,986 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,500,000 after purchasing an additional 4,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fourthstone LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 95.2% during the second quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 129,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,912,000 after purchasing an additional 62,993 shares during the period. 75.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Up 1.0%

SFST stock opened at $52.20 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Southern First Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $29.14 and a fifty-two week high of $62.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.40. The stock has a market cap of $429.61 million, a PE ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 0.75.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.10. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 8.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southern First Bancshares will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on SFST. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Southern First Bancshares from $54.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Southern First Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.00.

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.