Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Up 4.4 %

SFST opened at $29.24 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $238.60 million, a P/E ratio of 17.83 and a beta of 0.84. Southern First Bancshares has a 12 month low of $23.70 and a 12 month high of $39.36.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The bank reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $21.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.38 million. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 6.69% and a return on equity of 4.30%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southern First Bancshares will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Southern First Bancshares

In related news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 1,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.34, for a total value of $48,419.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,713,233.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 3,963 shares of company stock valued at $110,306 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SFST. ELCO Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Southern First Bancshares by 4.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 118,815 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,201,000 after buying an additional 5,300 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Southern First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth $157,000. Wagner Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth $209,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Southern First Bancshares by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 61,800 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,293,000 after buying an additional 8,938 shares in the last quarter. 75.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern First Bancshares Company Profile

Southern First Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Southern First Bank that provides commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans to the general public in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. The company accepts various deposit products that include checking accounts, commercial checking accounts, and savings accounts, as well as other time deposits, including daily money market accounts and long-term certificates of deposit.