BNP Paribas Financial Markets Raises Stock Holdings in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) by 37.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,066 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Southern First Bancshares were worth $70,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 2.9% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 28,280 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $827,000 after buying an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,654 shares of the bank’s stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,945 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 3.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 323,001 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,444,000 after purchasing an additional 10,138 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 9.2% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 92,293 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,699,000 after purchasing an additional 7,786 shares during the period. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 31.5% in the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 33,468 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $979,000 after purchasing an additional 8,025 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SFST opened at $39.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $324.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $41.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.59. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.98 and a 12-month high of $45.90.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $54.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.57 million. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 6.67% and a return on equity of 4.42%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Southern First Bancshares

In other news, CAO Julie Ann Fairchild sold 1,000 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total value of $45,230.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $264,143.20. The trade was a 14.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 7.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.