Leighton Cubbage Sells 800 Shares of Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Stock

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Director Leighton Cubbage sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.02, for a total transaction of $50,416.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 49,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,145,643.30. This trade represents a 1.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

SFST stock opened at $62.12 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $61.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.45. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.90 and a 52-week high of $65.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $587.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30 and a beta of 0.68.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.01. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 16.78%.The company had revenue of $20.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.30 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SFST shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southern First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SFST. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Southern First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,736,000. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in Southern First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,998,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Southern First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,619,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,343,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth $3,022,000. 75.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.