StockNews.com Upgrades ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) to “Hold”

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler increased their target price on ServisFirst Bancshares from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Hovde Group boosted their price target on ServisFirst Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Down 2.2 %

ServisFirst Bancshares stock traded down $2.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $96.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 232,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 203,280. ServisFirst Bancshares has a 52-week low of $46.06 and a 52-week high of $100.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.83 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.41.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ServisFirst Bancshares will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at ServisFirst Bancshares

In related news, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total value of $85,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,285.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, COO Rodney Eldon Rushing sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.58, for a total transaction of $966,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 307,837 shares in the company, valued at $24,805,505.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total transaction of $85,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,285.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SFBS. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 2,704.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 415,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,428,000 after buying an additional 400,694 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 34.0% in the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,438,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,484,000 after purchasing an additional 364,720 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $378,228,000 after acquiring an additional 221,507 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $10,507,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,181,000. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About ServisFirst Bancshares

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.