Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Director Leighton Cubbage Sells 400 Shares of Stock

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Director Leighton Cubbage sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $25,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 49,515 shares in the company, valued at $3,119,445. This represents a 0.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Southern First Bancshares Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of SFST stock opened at $62.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $588.32 million, a P/E ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 0.68. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.90 and a 12-month high of $65.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $61.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.49.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.01. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The firm had revenue of $20.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.30 million. Research analysts forecast that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SFST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research cut Southern First Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the second quarter valued at approximately $10,998,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Southern First Bancshares by 147.3% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 34,706 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 20,673 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Southern First Bancshares by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 150,607 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,208,000 after purchasing an additional 22,700 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 39.7% during the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 60,578 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,121,000 after buying an additional 17,228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Azora Capital LP acquired a new position in Southern First Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth $645,000. 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.