Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Sunday.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded 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 assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ SFST opened at $54.47 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $52.97 and its 200 day moving average is $46.91. Southern First Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $29.14 and a fifty-two week high of $58.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $446.11 million, a PE ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 0.74.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.10. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 13.52%.The business had revenue of $1.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Southern First Bancshares will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern First Bancshares news, Director David G. Ellison sold 1,000 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.28, for a total value of $53,280.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 49,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,645,938.08. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have acquired 525 shares of company stock worth $23,011 over the last three months. Company insiders own 7.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SFST. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Southern First Bancshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 28.7% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,380 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 154.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,633 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 990 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 111.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 903 shares in the last quarter. 75.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.