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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SFBS. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Hovde Group increased their price target on ServisFirst Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Down 1.1 %

ServisFirst Bancshares stock opened at $84.74 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $91.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.66 and a beta of 0.88. ServisFirst Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $58.05 and a fifty-two week high of $101.37.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that ServisFirst Bancshares will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.335 per share. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. This is a positive change from ServisFirst Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. ServisFirst Bancshares’s payout ratio is 35.83%.

Insider Activity at ServisFirst Bancshares

In related news, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of ServisFirst Bancshares stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 10.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ServisFirst Bancshares

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SFBS. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 472,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,876,000 after buying an additional 7,450 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 8.7% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.0% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $916,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 286.8% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 64,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,048,000 after purchasing an additional 47,502 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 4,880.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.31% of the company’s stock.

ServisFirst Bancshares Company Profile

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.