Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Stock Price Down 4.4% – What’s Next?

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST)’s stock price dropped 4.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $58.45 and last traded at $58.70. Approximately 10,609 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 111,827 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SFST shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern First Bancshares presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.00.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $574.47 million, a PE ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $59.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.90.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.01. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 15.21%.The firm had revenue of $20.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.30 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 765 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total transaction of $46,359.00. Following the sale, the director owned 50,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,073,329. The trade was a 1.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SFST. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 40.2% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 666 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 28.7% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,380 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 154.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,633 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the second quarter worth approximately $75,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

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.