ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $100.21 and last traded at $100.08, with a volume of 12311 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $96.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on SFBS shares. Piper Sandler increased their price target 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. Hovde Group boosted their price target on ServisFirst Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered ServisFirst Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday.

ServisFirst Bancshares Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

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

ServisFirst Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. ServisFirst Bancshares’s payout ratio is 32.09%.

Insider Activity at ServisFirst Bancshares

In other ServisFirst Bancshares news, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total value of $85,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Rodney Eldon Rushing sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.58, for a total transaction of $966,960.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 307,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,805,505.46. This represents a 3.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.4% during the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings 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 worth $2,036,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 6.5% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 3,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 0.6% in 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 during the last quarter. 67.31% of the stock is currently 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.