Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Director Leighton M. Cubbage Sells 812 Shares

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 812 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.11, for a total transaction of $23,637.32. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 61,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,800,511.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Down 1.8 %

SFST stock opened at $28.66 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $28.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.70 and a fifty-two week high of $39.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $233.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.48 and a beta of 0.82.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The bank reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.07). Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 4.30% and a net margin of 6.69%. The firm had revenue of $21.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.38 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 256.4% in the fourth quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,780 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $157,000. ELCO Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Finally, Wagner Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $209,000. 75.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.