Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Short Interest Down 13.9% in January

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of 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. Based on an average trading volume of 18,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Down 2.5 %

SFST opened at $36.80 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $39.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.79. Southern First Bancshares has a twelve month low of $24.98 and a twelve month high of $45.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $300.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17 and a beta of 0.83.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.29. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 4.85%. Equities research analysts forecast that Southern First Bancshares will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern First Bancshares news, CAO Julie Ann Fairchild sold 1,000 shares of Southern First Bancshares 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,143.20. The trade was a 14.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 7.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southern First Bancshares

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFST. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Southern First Bancshares by 37.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,066 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Southern First Bancshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Princeton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern First Bancshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Southern First Bancshares by 3.1% during the third quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,295 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP grew its position in Southern First Bancshares by 15.6% during the third quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 12,591 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the period. 75.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern First Bancshares Company Profile

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.