Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Short Interest Update

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) saw a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 72,600 shares, an increase of 24.5% from the February 13th total of 58,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 18,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

SFST traded up $0.78 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $32.90. 9,943 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,847. The stock has a market cap of $269.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Southern First Bancshares has a 12 month low of $24.98 and a 12 month high of $45.91.

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, topping 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%. Analysts anticipate that Southern First Bancshares will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 15,746 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Southern First Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth $286,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 53,443 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,124,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 36.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,114 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 2,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Southern First Bancshares by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 278,549 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,072,000 after buying an additional 1,610 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

About Southern First Bancshares

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.