Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Stake in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 323,001 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 10,138 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 3.96% of Southern First Bancshares worth $9,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 93.5% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,921 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,895 shares in the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Southern First Bancshares during the first quarter worth about $266,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Southern First Bancshares during the first quarter worth about $394,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 875 shares during the period. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in Southern First Bancshares by 181.4% during the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 25,443 shares of the bank’s stock worth $808,000 after buying an additional 16,400 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of Southern First Bancshares stock opened at $33.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.98 and a 1-year high of $39.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $275.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57 and a beta of 0.81.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $54.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.13 million. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 6.67% and a return on equity of 4.41%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 1,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.02, for a total value of $40,015.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 60,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,878,633.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 1,290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.02, for a total transaction of $40,015.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 60,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,878,633.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 1,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.18, for a total transaction of $54,377.92. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,833,945.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,549 shares of company stock worth $178,118 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 7.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th.

Southern First Bancshares 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.