Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 72,600 shares, a growth of 24.5% from the February 13th total of 58,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 18,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased 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 acquiring an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Southern First Bancshares by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,041 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $161,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern First Bancshares during the third quarter valued at $204,000. Colonial Trust Advisors increased its position in Southern First Bancshares by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 5,725 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Southern First Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at $286,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of SFST stock traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $33.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,865. Southern First Bancshares has a 52-week low of $24.98 and a 52-week high of $45.91. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $35.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $272.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35 and a beta of 0.87.

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

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.