Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Director Acquires $13,323.60 in Stock

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Director Anna T. Locke bought 360 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $37.01 per share, for a total transaction of $13,323.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,559.82. This trade represents a 16.20 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFST opened at $35.68 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $38.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.84. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.98 and a 52-week high of $45.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $291.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58 and a beta of 0.83.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.29. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 4.85% and a net margin of 7.28%. Equities research analysts forecast that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Southern First Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SFST. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the third quarter worth $101,000. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,295 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,140 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,061,000 after buying an additional 2,860 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,430 shares of the bank’s stock worth $492,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares during the period. Finally, Princeton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $204,000. 75.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.