8,150 Shares in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. $SFST Purchased by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 8,150 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $498,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SFST. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 2.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 34,910 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,149,000 after buying an additional 890 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 66,603 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,193,000 after acquiring an additional 3,074 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,637 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 3,532 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Southern First Bancshares during the first quarter worth $303,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its position in Southern First Bancshares by 14.2% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 41,850 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,592,000 after purchasing an additional 5,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research 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 reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.00.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFST opened at $61.97 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $61.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $586.24 million, a PE ratio of 13.27 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.90 and a fifty-two week high of $65.09.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $36.30 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.02, for a total value of $50,416.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 49,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,145,643.30. The trade was a 1.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Julie Ann Fairchild sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $94,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $327,600. This trade represents a 22.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,318 shares of company stock worth $206,273. Insiders own 6.90% 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.