Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Stock Crosses Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average of $31.76

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST)’s stock price crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $31.76 and traded as low as $26.43. Southern First Bancshares shares last traded at $26.61, with a volume of 8,411 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFST has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler raised Southern First Bancshares from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $34.00 to $44.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Southern First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.03 million, a PE ratio of 16.03 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $31.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.76.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The bank reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $51.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.46 million. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 7.16%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern First Bancshares

In other Southern First Bancshares news, CEO R Arthur Seaver, Jr. sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.13, for a total transaction of $77,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,831,896.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Southern First Bancshares news, CEO R Arthur Seaver, Jr. sold 996 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.25, for a total transaction of $31,125.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 83,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,608,437.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO R Arthur Seaver, Jr. sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.13, for a total value of $77,825.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,831,896.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,513 shares of company stock valued at $109,477 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFST. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Southern First Bancshares by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 799,080 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,558,000 after purchasing an additional 117,405 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 777,221 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,236,000 after acquiring an additional 108,424 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 289.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 56,867 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,890,000 after acquiring an additional 42,271 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 251,207 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,712,000 after acquiring an additional 41,764 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 272.5% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 46,558 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,031,000 after acquiring an additional 34,058 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

Southern First Bancshares Company Profile

Southern First Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Southern First Bank that provides commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans to the general public in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. The company accepts various deposit products that include checking accounts, commercial checking accounts, and savings accounts, as well as other time deposits, including daily money market accounts and long-term certificates of deposit.