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

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

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

ServisFirst Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SFBS traded down $0.93 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $85.64. 235,241 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 206,344. ServisFirst Bancshares has a one year low of $58.05 and a one year high of $101.37. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.90 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $91.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.68.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $256.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.70 million. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.23% and a net margin of 21.16%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ServisFirst Bancshares will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ServisFirst Bancshares news, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total transaction of $85,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,285.20. This represents a 10.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 7.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 0.6% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,036,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 6.5% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 3,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 3.9% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 43,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,725,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.