Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 23,555 Shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,157,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 23,555 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.12% of ServisFirst Bancshares worth $93,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 2,704.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 415,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,428,000 after buying an additional 400,694 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $10,507,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in the second quarter valued at $7,181,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 11.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,037,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,466,000 after purchasing an additional 108,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 708,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,983,000 after buying an additional 83,804 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.31% of the company’s stock.

ServisFirst Bancshares Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE SFBS opened at $85.10 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a PE ratio of 22.75 and a beta of 0.88. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.05 and a 12 month high of $101.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $91.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $256.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.70 million. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.23% and a net margin of 21.16%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.335 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. This is a positive change from ServisFirst Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. ServisFirst Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SFBS. StockNews.com downgraded ServisFirst Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Hovde Group increased their target price on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Insider Activity at ServisFirst Bancshares

In other news, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of ServisFirst Bancshares stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total value of $85,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,285.20. This trade represents a 10.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

ServisFirst Bancshares Profile

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for ServisFirst Bank that provides various banking services to individual and corporate customers. It accepts demand, time, savings, and other deposits; checking, money market, and IRA accounts; and certificates of deposit. The company's loan products include commercial lending products, including seasonal, bridge, and term loans for working capital, expansion of the business, acquisition of property, and plant and equipment, as well as commercial lines of credit; commercial real estate loans, construction and development loans, and residential real estate loans; and consumer loans, such as home equity loans, vehicle financing, loans secured by deposits, and secured and unsecured personal loans.