Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 2,973 Shares of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,539 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,973 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.26% of Southern First Bancshares worth $856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 12,506 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 813 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Southern First Bancshares by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,105 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,041 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $161,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 15,191 shares of the bank’s stock worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 43.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 44,643 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,775,000 after purchasing an additional 13,503 shares during the period. 75.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

Southern First Bancshares stock opened at $33.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $272.62 million, a P/E ratio of 17.36 and a beta of 0.87. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.98 and a 1-year high of $45.91. The company’s 50-day moving average is $35.07 and its 200 day moving average is $37.26.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.29. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 4.85% and a net margin of 7.28%. Research analysts forecast that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Southern First Bancshares Company 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.