Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Short Interest Up 30.8% in September

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 59,500 shares, a growth of 30.8% from the September 15th total of 45,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 21,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ SFST traded up $1.02 on Tuesday, hitting $36.74. The stock had a trading volume of 41,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,824. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $32.46 and a 200-day moving average of $30.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.10. Southern First Bancshares has a 52-week low of $24.98 and a 52-week high of $39.36. The company has a market capitalization of $299.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40 and a beta of 0.81.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.08. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 6.67%. The company had revenue of $54.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.13 million. Equities analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 1,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.18, for a total transaction of $54,377.92. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,833,945.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 1,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.18, for a total transaction of $54,377.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 58,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,833,945.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 2,515 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.29, for a total transaction of $83,724.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,303 shares in the company, valued at $1,807,746.87. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,549 shares of company stock valued at $178,118 in the last three months. 7.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at $101,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 93.5% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,921 shares of the bank’s stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 1,895 shares in the last quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the second quarter worth approximately $292,000. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 19.3% in the 2nd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,983 shares of the bank’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 1,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at $394,000. Institutional investors own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

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.