StockNews.com Upgrades ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) to Hold

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on SFBS. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

ServisFirst Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SFBS opened at $95.88 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $83.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.57. ServisFirst Bancshares has a 12 month low of $49.72 and a 12 month high of $100.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.64 and a beta of 0.86.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.13. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 14.23%. The firm had revenue of $256.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.70 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ServisFirst Bancshares will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total value of $85,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,285.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other ServisFirst Bancshares news, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total transaction of $85,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,501 shares in the company, valued at $724,285.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Rodney Eldon Rushing sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.58, for a total transaction of $966,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 307,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,805,505.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ServisFirst Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 4,880.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 138.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares during the second quarter worth $84,000. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares during the third quarter worth $203,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 8.7% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ServisFirst Bancshares

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for ServisFirst Bank that provides various banking services to individual and corporate customers. It accepts demand, time, savings, and other deposits; checking, money market, and IRA accounts; and certificates of deposit. The company's loan products include commercial lending products, including seasonal, bridge, and term loans for working capital, expansion of the business, acquisition of property, and plant and equipment, as well as commercial lines of credit; commercial real estate loans, construction and development loans, and residential real estate loans; and consumer loans, such as home equity loans, vehicle financing, loans secured by deposits, and secured and unsecured personal loans.