Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Stock Price Crosses Below 200-Day Moving Average of $31.48

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) shares passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $31.48 and traded as low as $26.43. Southern First Bancshares shares last traded at $26.50, with a volume of 28,023 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Southern First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $216.13 million, a PE ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $27.22 and its 200-day moving average is $31.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The bank reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.07). Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 4.30% and a net margin of 6.69%. The firm had revenue of $21.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.38 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 1,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.34, for a total value of $48,419.14. Following the sale, the director now owns 62,664 shares in the company, valued at $1,713,233.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,963 shares of company stock worth $110,306. 7.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 256.4% in the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,780 shares of the bank’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 93.5% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,921 shares of the bank’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Southern First Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at $157,000. ELCO Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the third quarter worth about $207,000. Finally, Wagner Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. Institutional investors 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.