ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in a report on Monday, December 29th. Hovde Group upgraded ServisFirst Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, December 19th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $89.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $91.00.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Down 5.4%

Shares of NYSE:SFBS opened at $81.98 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $73.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. ServisFirst Bancshares has a 12-month low of $66.48 and a 12-month high of $93.90.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.20. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 16.36% and a net margin of 26.95%.The company had revenue of $162.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $151.82 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ServisFirst Bancshares will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. This is an increase from ServisFirst Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. ServisFirst Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 30.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ServisFirst Bancshares

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 214.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 105.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About ServisFirst Bancshares

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, and the parent of ServisFirst Bank. The company specializes in commercial banking services, catering primarily to small and mid-sized businesses, professionals and entrepreneurs. Its product portfolio encompasses commercial real estate lending, commercial and industrial loans, deposit accounts, treasury management and other ancillary banking products designed to meet the financial needs of its clients.

ServisFirst Bank offers a full suite of deposit products, including interest-bearing checking, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, as well as a variety of loan products.