Inspire Investing LLC Raises Stock Holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)

Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares were worth $351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,103,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,478,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $365,008,000 after buying an additional 47,885 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 35.7% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 26,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,758,000 after buying an additional 6,964 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 58.2% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 48,470 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,230,000 after purchasing an additional 17,834 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares during the first quarter worth about $2,125,000. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:SFBS opened at $83.16 on Tuesday. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.21 and a 1 year high of $86.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.78 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $78.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.96.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.04. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 21.25%. The business had revenue of $114.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.80 million. Analysts predict that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. ServisFirst Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Hovde Group boosted their price target on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th.

Insider Transactions at ServisFirst Bancshares

In other news, COO Rodney Eldon Rushing sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 307,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,805,505.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

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.