Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.03 EPS

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The bank reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.03, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $37.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.60 million. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 16.78%.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFST opened at $59.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average of $61.68 and a 200-day moving average of $59.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $559.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 0.71. Southern First Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $40.91 and a fifty-two week high of $65.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Julie Fairchild sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $94,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $327,600. The trade was a 22.39% 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. Also, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.79, for a total value of $31,395.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 46,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,926,014. The trade was a 1.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,615 shares of company stock worth $351,739. Company insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Southern First Bancshares

Southern First Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina. Through its subsidiary, Southern First Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to businesses, professionals and individuals.

Southern First Bank offers commercial and consumer deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate loans, business loans, construction and development financing, and other credit products. Its services also include treasury and cash-management solutions, online and mobile banking, and related personal and business banking services.

Founded in 1999, Southern First serves customers through banking offices in South Carolina and North Carolina, including markets such as Greenville, Columbia and Charleston, South Carolina, and the Charlotte, North Carolina, area.