Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Insider Silvia King Sells 2,625 Shares

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) insider Silvia King sold 2,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.49, for a total value of $158,786.25. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $239,721.87. The trade was a 39.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

SFST stock opened at $55.84 on Friday. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $29.14 and a one year high of $62.00. The firm has a market cap of $459.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.93 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.52.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.10. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 8.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in Southern First Bancshares by 40.2% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 666 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 2.9% during the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 9,458 shares of the bank’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Southern First Bancshares by 28.7% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,380 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Southern First Bancshares by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,754 shares of the bank’s stock worth $730,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

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.