ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) Upgraded at StockNews.com

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on SFBS. Hovde Group lifted their target price on ServisFirst Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted 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.

ServisFirst Bancshares Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SFBS opened at $84.74 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $91.25 and a 200-day moving average of $80.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.66 and a beta of 0.88. ServisFirst Bancshares has a twelve month low of $58.05 and a twelve month high of $101.37.

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. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.23% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $256.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $120.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that ServisFirst Bancshares will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total value of $85,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,285.20. This trade represents a 10.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ServisFirst Bancshares

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SFBS. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake 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 valued at $77,775,000 after acquiring an additional 36,302 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.1% in the 3rd 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 period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 108,088 shares during the period. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 13.4% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 708,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,983,000 after purchasing an additional 83,804 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.31% of the company’s stock.

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.