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

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 57,500 shares, a drop of 13.9% from the December 31st total of 66,800 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 18,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Julie Ann Fairchild sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total value of $45,230.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $264,143.20. This trade represents a 14.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 7.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fourthstone LLC bought a new position in Southern First Bancshares during the third quarter valued at about $1,155,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 43.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 44,643 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,775,000 after purchasing an additional 13,503 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 323,001 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,444,000 after purchasing an additional 10,138 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 136.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,518 shares of the bank’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 8,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 47.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 25,303 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $862,000 after purchasing an additional 8,111 shares during the last quarter. 75.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFST traded down $0.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $36.80. The stock had a trading volume of 16,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,961. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $300.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17 and a beta of 0.85. Southern First Bancshares has a 52 week low of $24.98 and a 52 week high of $45.90.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.