Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research cut Southern First Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Southern First Bancshares from $54.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.00.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

Southern First Bancshares stock opened at $58.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $482.35 million, a P/E ratio of 15.69 and a beta of 0.77. Southern First Bancshares has a 1-year low of $29.14 and a 1-year high of $61.06. The company’s 50-day moving average is $54.38 and its 200 day moving average is $48.02.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.90 million. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 13.52%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Southern First Bancshares will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Southern First Bancshares

In related news, Director David G. Ellison sold 1,000 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.28, for a total value of $53,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 49,661 shares in the company, valued at $2,645,938.08. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 7.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFST. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 40.2% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 666 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 2.9% in the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 9,458 shares of the bank’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 28.7% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,380 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 2.4% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,754 shares of the bank’s stock worth $730,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Southern First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other 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.