Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Short Interest Up 30.8% in September

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) was the target of a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 59,500 shares, a growth of 30.8% from the September 15th total of 45,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 21,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Southern First Bancshares Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ SFST traded up $1.02 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $36.74. The company had a trading volume of 41,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,824. The stock has a market cap of $299.65 million, a P/E ratio of 22.40 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $32.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.12. 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 has a 12 month low of $24.98 and a 12 month high of $39.36.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The bank reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $54.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.13 million. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 6.67%. As a group, research analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern First Bancshares news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 1,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.02, for a total transaction of $40,015.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 60,562 shares in the company, valued at $1,878,633.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Southern First Bancshares news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 1,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 60,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,878,633.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 2,515 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 54,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,807,746.87. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,549 shares of company stock worth $178,118 in the last quarter. 7.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southern First Bancshares

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in 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 valued at $827,000 after acquiring an additional 805 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 7.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,860 shares of the bank’s stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 19.3% in the second quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,983 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 1,614 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 93.5% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,921 shares of the bank’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,895 shares in the last quarter. 75.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Southern First Bancshares

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.