Head-To-Head Contrast: Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) & Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF)

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) and Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, risk, dividends and earnings.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida and Southern First Bancshares”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida	$935.52 million	3.44	$144.88 million	$1.52	21.78
Southern First Bancshares	$224.62 million	2.57	$30.37 million	$4.28	14.25

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida has higher revenue and earnings than Southern First Bancshares. Southern First Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida and Southern First Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida	14.42%	8.23%	1.11%
Southern First Bancshares	15.21%	9.65%	0.79%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida and Southern First Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida	0	3	2	0	2.40
Southern First Bancshares	0	1	2	0	2.67

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida currently has a consensus target price of $35.00, suggesting a potential upside of 5.74%. Southern First Bancshares has a consensus target price of $64.00, suggesting a potential upside of 4.92%. Given Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida is more favorable than Southern First Bancshares.

Risk and Volatility

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida has a beta of 0.86, indicating that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Southern First Bancshares has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

81.8% of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.0% of Southern First Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.9% of Southern First Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida beats Southern First Bancshares on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

Seacoast Banking Corp. of Florida is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of integrated financial services. It provides banking and investment services to businesses and consumers, including personal and business deposit products, Internet and mobile banking, personal, commercial and mortgage loans, wealth management services, and treasury management solutions. The company was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Stuart, FL.

About Southern First Bancshares

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. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate loans; construction real estate loans; commercial business loans for various lines of businesses, such as the manufacturing, service industry, and professional service areas; consumer real estate and home equity loans; and other consumer loans, including secured and unsecured installment loans and revolving lines of credit. In addition, the company provides other bank services, such as internet banking, cash management, safe deposit boxes, direct deposit, automatic drafts, bill payment, and mobile banking services. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina.