ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) Raised 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 sent to investors on Sunday.

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

ServisFirst Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of SFBS stock opened at $84.32 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $91.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.22. The company has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55 and a beta of 0.91. ServisFirst Bancshares has a 12 month low of $58.05 and a 12 month high of $101.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.13. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 14.23%. The firm had revenue of $256.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $120.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. Analysts predict that ServisFirst Bancshares will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. This is a boost from ServisFirst Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. ServisFirst Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total value of $85,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,285.20. The trade was a 10.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 7.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ServisFirst Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SFBS. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,157,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $93,126,000 after purchasing an additional 23,555 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,230,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,775,000 after buying an additional 36,302 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 156,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,898,000 after acquiring an additional 46,469 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 286.8% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 64,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,048,000 after acquiring an additional 47,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares during the second quarter valued at about $408,000. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.