Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Southern First Bancshares from $54.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.00.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

Southern First Bancshares stock opened at $55.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $454.76 million, a P/E ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50-day moving average of $55.70 and a 200-day moving average of $51.21. Southern First Bancshares has a 1 year low of $29.14 and a 1 year high of $62.00.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.90 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southern First Bancshares will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Southern First Bancshares

In related news, insider Silvia T. King sold 2,625 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.49, for a total transaction of $158,786.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,721.87. This represents a 39.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 7.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SFST. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 40.2% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 666 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. 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 acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Southern First Bancshares by 28.7% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,380 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Southern First Bancshares by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,754 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $730,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

About Southern First Bancshares

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.