Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Director Leighton Cubbage Sells 1,200 Shares

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Director Leighton Cubbage sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $74,712.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 47,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,932,446. This trade represents a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

SFST stock opened at $62.89 on Friday. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $40.90 and a one year high of $65.09. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $62.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $594.94 million, a PE ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 0.67.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $20.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.30 million. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 10.18%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SFST shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 34,910 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,149,000 after buying an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 4.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 66,603 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,193,000 after acquiring an additional 3,074 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 23.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,637 shares of the bank’s stock worth $614,000 after acquiring an additional 3,532 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Southern First Bancshares during the first quarter valued at approximately $303,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC raised its position in Southern First Bancshares by 14.2% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 41,850 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,592,000 after purchasing an additional 5,200 shares during the period. 75.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.