Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Shares Bought by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) by 37.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,066 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 568 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Southern First Bancshares were worth $70,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SFST. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 4.9% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,430 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 92,293 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,699,000 after buying an additional 7,786 shares in the last quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the second quarter valued at about $292,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 9.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,654 shares of the bank’s stock worth $955,000 after acquiring an additional 2,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 2.9% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 28,280 shares of the bank’s stock worth $827,000 after acquiring an additional 805 shares in the last quarter. 75.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Southern First Bancshares

In related news, CAO Julie Ann Fairchild sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total transaction of $45,230.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,143.20. This represents a 14.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 7.62% of the company’s stock.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFST opened at $39.80 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $41.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.59. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.98 and a fifty-two week high of $45.90. The firm has a market cap of $324.77 million, a PE ratio of 23.01 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.16. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 6.67% and a return on equity of 4.42%. The business had revenue of $54.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern First Bancshares 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.