Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 16,466 Shares of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. $SFST

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its position in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) by 53.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,518 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 16,466 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Southern First Bancshares were worth $641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 9,458 shares of the bank’s stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 1.8% in the second quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 16,097 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 28.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Southern First Bancshares by 5.3% in the second quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,744 shares of the bank’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 2.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 34,910 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on SFST shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Southern First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.00.

Insider Activity at Southern First Bancshares

In other news, Director David G. Ellison sold 1,000 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.28, for a total transaction of $53,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 49,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,645,938.08. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have purchased 525 shares of company stock worth $23,011 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.06% of the company’s stock.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:SFST opened at $52.98 on Friday. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.14 and a twelve month high of $56.73. The company has a market cap of $433.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The bank reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $31.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.20 million. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 7.63%. Analysts anticipate that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

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.