ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Sunday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on ServisFirst Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on ServisFirst Bancshares from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Performance

NYSE:SFBS opened at $97.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a PE ratio of 26.14 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. ServisFirst Bancshares has a 12-month low of $50.36 and a 12-month high of $101.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $86.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.73.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.13. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.23% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $256.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that ServisFirst Bancshares will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. ServisFirst Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Rodney Eldon Rushing sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.58, for a total value of $966,960.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 307,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,805,505.46. This represents a 3.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total value of $85,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,501 shares in the company, valued at $724,285.20. This represents a 10.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ServisFirst Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 4.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,699,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,228,000 after purchasing an additional 221,507 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,377,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $191,241,000 after buying an additional 60,683 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of 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. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,157,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $93,126,000 after buying an additional 23,555 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,037,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,466,000 after buying an additional 108,088 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.31% of the company’s stock.

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.