Penn Capital Management Company LLC Takes Position in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. $SFST

Penn Capital Management Company LLC acquired a new position in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 11,080 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $677,000. Penn Capital Management Company LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Southern First Bancshares at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in Southern First Bancshares by 40.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 28.7% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,380 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the second quarter valued at about $54,000. 75.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 800 shares of the 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 transaction, the director owned 49,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,145,643.30. This represents 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 link. Also, CAO Julie Ann Fairchild sold 1,500 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $327,600. This trade represents a 22.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,068 shares of company stock valued at $253,540. Company insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of SFST stock opened at $62.26 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $62.03 and a 200 day moving average of $58.51. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.90 and a 1 year high of $65.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $588.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 0.68.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $20.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.30 million. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 16.78%. As a group, research analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

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.