Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Director Leighton Cubbage Sells 350 Shares

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Director Leighton Cubbage sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.05, for a total value of $22,067.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 49,165 shares in the company, valued at $3,099,853.25. This trade represents a 0.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of SFST stock traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $62.22. 54,029 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 112,163. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $61.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.47. The company has a market cap of $588.55 million, a P/E ratio of 13.32 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 12-month low of $40.90 and a 12-month high of $65.09.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.01. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The company had revenue of $20.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.30 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 40.2% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 666 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Southern First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 28.7% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,380 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 990 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.