Ray Lattimore Sells 253 Shares of Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Stock

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Director Ray Lattimore sold 253 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.28, for a total value of $14,997.84. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,808.56. This trade represents a 18.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of Southern First Bancshares stock traded down $1.13 on Wednesday, reaching $61.36. 94,372 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 113,338. The firm has a market cap of $580.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 0.67. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.30 and a 1-year high of $64.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company’s 50-day moving average is $59.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.29.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $20.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.30 million. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 16.78%. As a group, research analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $64.00.

Institutional Trading of Southern First Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFST. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 39.7% during the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 60,578 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,121,000 after purchasing an additional 17,228 shares during the period. Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in Southern First Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth about $645,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 89.2% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 24,495 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 11,545 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Southern First Bancshares by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 380,368 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $20,730,000 after buying an additional 2,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Southern First Bancshares by 33.1% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 44,527 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,427,000 after buying an additional 11,065 shares in the last quarter. 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.