Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) saw a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 81,851 shares, a growth of 33.9% from the February 12th total of 61,136 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 68,835 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days. Based on an average daily volume of 68,835 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Silvia T. King sold 2,625 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.49, for a total value of $158,786.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $239,721.87. This trade represents a 39.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Southern First Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 40.2% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 666 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in Southern First Bancshares by 2.9% in the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 9,458 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Southern First Bancshares by 28.7% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,380 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 2.4% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,754 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $730,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Southern First Bancshares Trading Down 2.2%

SFST opened at $51.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. Southern First Bancshares has a one year low of $29.14 and a one year high of $62.00. The company has a market cap of $425.49 million, a P/E ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.31.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.90 million. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 8.63% and a net margin of 13.52%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.