Wasatch Advisors LP Boosts Stake in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)

Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) by 13.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 708,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 83,804 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP’s holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares were worth $56,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,036,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 3,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 43,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,725,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.31% of the company’s stock.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Performance

SFBS stock opened at $95.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a PE ratio of 25.61 and a beta of 0.86. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $50.56 and a 12-month high of $101.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.24.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $256.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.70 million. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.23% and a net margin of 21.16%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. ServisFirst Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 32.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ServisFirst Bancshares

In other news, COO Rodney Eldon Rushing sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.58, for a total value of $966,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 307,837 shares in the company, valued at $24,805,505.46. This represents a 3.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of ServisFirst Bancshares stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,501 shares in the company, valued at $724,285.20. This trade represents a 10.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFBS has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded ServisFirst Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 24th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on ServisFirst Bancshares from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Hovde Group upped their price objective on ServisFirst Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

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.