ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) Increases Dividend to $0.38 Per Share

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.38 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd. This is a 13.4% increase from ServisFirst Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34.

ServisFirst Bancshares has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 10 years. ServisFirst Bancshares has a payout ratio of 22.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect ServisFirst Bancshares to earn $6.14 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.34 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.8%.

ServisFirst Bancshares Trading Up 0.2%

SFBS stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $73.94. 67,998 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 234,504. ServisFirst Bancshares has a 1-year low of $66.48 and a 1-year high of $94.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.00.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 10th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $104.27 million during the quarter. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 15.67% and a net margin of 25.24%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that ServisFirst Bancshares will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of ServisFirst Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SFBS. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 214.1% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 52.8% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.31% of the company’s stock.

ServisFirst Bancshares Company 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.