Gabelli Funds LLC Buys 8,025 Shares of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST)

Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) by 31.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,468 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 8,025 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Southern First Bancshares were worth $979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. rhino investment partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $551,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 256.4% during the fourth quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,780 shares of the bank’s stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 151,436 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,618,000 after buying an additional 32,621 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Southern First Bancshares by 1.3% during the first quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 139,310 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,424,000 after acquiring an additional 1,730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southern First Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth about $266,000. Institutional investors own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Southern First Bancshares

In other Southern First Bancshares news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 1,290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.02, for a total value of $40,015.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 60,562 shares in the company, valued at $1,878,633.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 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 transaction of $83,724.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 54,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,807,746.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 1,290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.02, for a total value of $40,015.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 60,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,878,633.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,549 shares of company stock valued at $178,118 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of SFST stock opened at $32.99 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.58 and a 200-day moving average of $29.89. The company has a market cap of $269.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12 and a beta of 0.81. 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 52 week low of $24.98 and a 52 week high of $39.36.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The bank reported $0.37 EPS 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 business had revenue of $54.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.13 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current 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.