ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) Cut to Outperform at Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial lowered shares of ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) from a strong-buy rating to an outperform rating in a report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $45.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their prior target price of $50.00.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on SFBS. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 30th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.50.

ServisFirst Bancshares Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:SFBS opened at $38.62 on Tuesday. ServisFirst Bancshares has a 1 year low of $33.60 and a 1 year high of $46.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $42.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.16 and a beta of 0.91.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.78. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 30.95% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The company had revenue of $168.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.85 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ServisFirst Bancshares will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. ServisFirst Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ServisFirst Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 132.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 1,960 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 91.6% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 100.0% during the third quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 39,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,583,000 after acquiring an additional 19,792 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 686.0% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in the second quarter valued at about $254,000. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ServisFirst Bancshares Company Profile

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc is the bank holding company for ServisFirst Bank, a regional financial institution headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. Founded in 2005, the company provides banking services primarily to businesses, professionals, and individuals through a relationship-focused operating model.

ServisFirst Bank offers commercial and consumer lending, deposit accounts, cash-management and treasury services, online and mobile banking, mortgage lending, and wealth-management solutions.