Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Downgraded by StockNews.com

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ SFST opened at $29.04 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Southern First Bancshares has a 12-month low of $23.70 and a 12-month high of $39.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $27.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71 and a beta of 0.83.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The bank reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $21.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.38 million. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 6.69% and a return on equity of 4.30%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Southern First Bancshares will post 1.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern First Bancshares

In related news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 1,771 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.34, for a total transaction of $48,419.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,713,233.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 3,963 shares of company stock worth $110,306 over the last quarter. Insiders own 7.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SFST. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Southern First Bancshares in the first quarter worth $394,000. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its position in Southern First Bancshares by 181.4% in the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 25,443 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $808,000 after buying an additional 16,400 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Southern First Bancshares by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 54,457 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,728,000 after buying an additional 14,545 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 413,259 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,125,000 after acquiring an additional 16,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 7.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,860 shares of the bank’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the period. 75.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.