Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Director Sells $46,359.00 in Stock

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Director Leighton Cubbage sold 765 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total transaction of $46,359.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 50,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,073,329. The trade was a 1.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFST traded down $0.12 on Friday, reaching $61.39. 104,736 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 102,875. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.80 and a 1-year high of $62.38. The firm has a market cap of $580.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50-day moving average of $57.15 and a 200-day moving average of $55.43.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The bank reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.01). Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 15.21%.The company had revenue of $32.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.10 million. Equities analysts forecast that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Maltese Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the third quarter worth $1,125,000. Teton Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the third quarter worth $794,000. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 39.7% in the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 60,578 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,121,000 after acquiring an additional 17,228 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 89.2% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 24,495 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,335,000 after acquiring an additional 11,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 19,204 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after buying an additional 2,883 shares during the period. 75.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.