Long Focus Capital Management LLC Makes New $292,000 Investment in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST)

Long Focus Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 10,000 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $292,000. Long Focus Capital Management LLC owned 0.12% of Southern First Bancshares at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SFST. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 31.5% in the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 33,468 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $979,000 after purchasing an additional 8,025 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 92,293 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,699,000 after purchasing an additional 7,786 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 323,001 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,444,000 after buying an additional 10,138 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,654 shares of the bank’s stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 2,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $292,000 after buying an additional 1,614 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Southern First Bancshares Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of SFST stock opened at $32.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.98 and a fifty-two week high of $39.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $32.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.89. The stock has a market cap of $269.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Insider Activity

In other Southern First Bancshares news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 2,515 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 54,303 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,807,746.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Southern First Bancshares news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 2,515 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $83,724.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 54,303 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,807,746.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 1,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.18, for a total value of $54,377.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,833,945.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,549 shares of company stock worth $178,118. 7.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.