Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 72,600 shares, a growth of 24.5% from the February 13th total of 58,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 18,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Southern First Bancshares Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of SFST traded up $0.78 on Monday, hitting $32.90. 9,943 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,847. Southern First Bancshares has a 1 year low of $24.98 and a 1 year high of $45.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $35.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $269.02 million, a P/E ratio of 17.15 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.29. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 4.85% and a net margin of 7.28%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southern First Bancshares will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SFST. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,066 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,041 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Advisors grew its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 5,725 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth $204,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth $286,000. 75.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern First Bancshares Company 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.