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

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST)’s share price passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred 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 traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SFST. Piper Sandler raised shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $34.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Southern First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $31.43 and its 200-day moving average is $31.76. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $218.77 million, a PE ratio of 16.15 and a beta of 0.78.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 18th. The bank reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Southern First Bancshares

In other Southern First Bancshares news, CEO R Arthur Seaver, Jr. sold 996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.25, for a total value of $31,125.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 83,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,608,437.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO R Arthur Seaver, Jr. sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.13, for a total value 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 $2,831,896.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO R Arthur Seaver, Jr. sold 996 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.25, for a total transaction of $31,125.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 83,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,608,437.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,513 shares of company stock worth $109,477 in the last ninety days. 7.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 130.3% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 905 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA lifted its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 80.4% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 1,862 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 154.7% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 1,877 shares of the bank’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC increased its position in Southern First Bancshares by 22.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 2,284 shares of the bank’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 114,150.0% during the second quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 2,285 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 2,283 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

About Southern First Bancshares

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.