Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Short Interest Down 15.6% in January

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 54,500 shares, a decline of 15.6% from the January 15th total of 64,574 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 45,477 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 45,477 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of SFST stock traded up $0.57 on Tuesday, hitting $58.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 31,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,060. Southern First Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $29.14 and a fifty-two week high of $61.06. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $54.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $483.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.73 and a beta of 0.77.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.10. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 13.52%.The business had revenue of $1.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Southern First Bancshares will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SFST. Zacks Research lowered Southern First Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Southern First Bancshares from $54.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Southern First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern First Bancshares currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David G. Ellison sold 1,000 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.28, for a total value of $53,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 49,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,645,938.08. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 7.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Southern First Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 2.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,814 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,052,000 after buying an additional 10,741 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 377,711 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,460,000 after purchasing an additional 2,329 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 2.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 180,585 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,870,000 after buying an additional 3,825 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 164,986 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,500,000 after buying an additional 4,302 shares during the period. Finally, Fourthstone LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 95.2% during the 2nd quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 129,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,912,000 after acquiring an additional 62,993 shares during the period. 75.00% of the stock is owned by 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.