Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $62.00 and last traded at $61.44, with a volume of 4096 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Southern First Bancshares Trading Down 7.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $55.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.52. The company has a market cap of $459.56 million, a P/E ratio of 14.93 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Silvia T. King sold 2,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.49, for a total value of $158,786.25. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,721.87. This trade represents a 39.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David G. Ellison sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.28, for a total transaction of $53,280.00. Following the sale, the director owned 49,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,645,938.08. This trade represents a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 7.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Southern First Bancshares in the third quarter worth about $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 28.7% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,380 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 154.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,633 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 990 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $75,000. Institutional investors own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

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.