Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $34.31 and traded as high as $42.90. Southern First Bancshares shares last traded at $42.90, with a volume of 13,217 shares trading hands.

Southern First Bancshares Trading Up 1.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $350.06 million, a PE ratio of 24.80 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $54.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.57 million. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 4.42% and a net margin of 6.67%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Southern First Bancshares

In other Southern First Bancshares news, CAO Julie Ann Fairchild sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total transaction of $45,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $264,143.20. The trade was a 14.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 7.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southern First Bancshares

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Southern First Bancshares by 37.9% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,066 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the third quarter worth approximately $101,000. Princeton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern First Bancshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Long Focus Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern First Bancshares during the second quarter valued at approximately $292,000. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 3.1% during the third quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,295 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

About Southern First Bancshares

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.