Leighton Cubbage Sells 765 Shares of Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Stock

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Director Leighton Cubbage sold 765 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total value of $46,359.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 50,715 shares in the company, valued at $3,073,329. The trade was a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of Southern First Bancshares stock opened at $60.68 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.47. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.80 and a 52 week high of $62.38. The company has a market capitalization of $573.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The bank reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.01). Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.21% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The business had revenue of $32.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.10 million. As a group, analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Maltese Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern First Bancshares during the third quarter worth approximately $1,125,000. Teton Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern First Bancshares during the third quarter worth approximately $794,000. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 39.7% during the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 60,578 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,121,000 after acquiring an additional 17,228 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Southern First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $115,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 26.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,760 shares of the bank’s stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 1,623 shares during the last quarter. 75.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFST has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Southern First Bancshares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Southern First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.00.

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.