ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

SFBS has been the topic of several other research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Hovde Group upped their price target on ServisFirst Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of ServisFirst Bancshares stock opened at $96.64 on Friday. ServisFirst Bancshares has a 12-month low of $49.72 and a 12-month high of $100.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $85.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84 and a beta of 0.86.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $256.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.70 million. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 14.23%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. Equities analysts expect that ServisFirst Bancshares will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at ServisFirst Bancshares

In related news, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of ServisFirst Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total transaction of $85,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,285.20. This trade represents a 10.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Rodney Eldon Rushing sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.58, for a total transaction of $966,960.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,699,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,228,000 after purchasing an additional 221,507 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,377,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $191,241,000 after buying an additional 60,683 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,230,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,775,000 after buying an additional 36,302 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,157,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $93,126,000 after purchasing an additional 23,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,037,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,466,000 after buying an additional 108,088 shares during the last quarter. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ServisFirst Bancshares Company Profile

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.