Intech Investment Management LLC Buys 5,721 Shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) by 88.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,721 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares were worth $980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SFBS. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 2,704.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 415,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,428,000 after purchasing an additional 400,694 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at $10,507,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $7,181,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,037,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,466,000 after purchasing an additional 108,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,453,000. Institutional investors own 67.31% of the company’s stock.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE SFBS opened at $97.08 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $86.35 and a 200-day moving average of $75.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.14 and a beta of 0.86. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.36 and a 52 week high of $101.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $256.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.70 million. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.23% and a net margin of 21.16%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. ServisFirst Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFBS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Hovde Group raised their price target on ServisFirst Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com cut ServisFirst Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on ServisFirst Bancshares from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Insider Transactions at ServisFirst Bancshares

In other news, COO Rodney Eldon Rushing sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.58, for a total value of $966,960.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 307,837 shares in the company, valued at $24,805,505.46. This trade represents a 3.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total value of $85,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,501 shares in the company, valued at $724,285.20. This represents a 10.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.