ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

Zacks Research downgraded shares of ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ServisFirst Bancshares has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.50.

ServisFirst Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SFBS opened at $83.27 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.22 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s 50 day moving average is $83.24 and its 200-day moving average is $78.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. ServisFirst Bancshares has a 1-year low of $66.48 and a 1-year high of $101.37.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $132.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.26 million. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 24.62%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that ServisFirst Bancshares will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.335 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. ServisFirst Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Thomas A. Broughton sold 22,206 shares of ServisFirst Bancshares stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.99, for a total value of $1,953,905.94. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 592,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,141,818.12. This trade represents a 3.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ServisFirst Bancshares

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 3.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,902,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $487,525,000 after acquiring an additional 187,715 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,566,528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $198,932,000 after purchasing an additional 349,177 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 25.1% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,072,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,598,000 after purchasing an additional 214,879 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,056,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,298,000 after purchasing an additional 3,405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 762,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,093,000 after purchasing an additional 47,926 shares during the last quarter. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ServisFirst Bancshares

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.