Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Short Interest Up 30.8% in September

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) was the target of a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 59,500 shares, a growth of 30.8% from the September 15th total of 45,500 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 21,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised Southern First Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 2,515 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.29, for a total transaction of $83,724.35. Following the sale, the director now owns 54,303 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,807,746.87. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Southern First Bancshares news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 1,290 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.02, for a total transaction of $40,015.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 60,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,878,633.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 2,515 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.29, for a total value of $83,724.35. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 54,303 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,807,746.87. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,549 shares of company stock worth $178,118 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $101,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 93.5% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,921 shares of the bank’s stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 1,895 shares in the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,983 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,614 shares in the last quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $292,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the 1st quarter valued at about $394,000. 75.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Up 2.9 %

Southern First Bancshares stock traded up $1.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $36.74. The stock had a trading volume of 38,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,810. Southern First Bancshares has a 1-year low of $24.98 and a 1-year high of $39.36. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $299.65 million, a P/E ratio of 22.40 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $54.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.13 million. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 6.67%. As a group, analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal 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.