Federated Hermes Inc. Buys Shares of 69,137 ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)

Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 69,137 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,859,000. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of ServisFirst Bancshares as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SFBS. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 153,220 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,984,000 after acquiring an additional 6,953 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,062,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 372,204 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,541,000 after buying an additional 3,620 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 83.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 25,270 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,141,000 after buying an additional 11,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 65,986 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,592,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. 67.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Christopher J. Mettler sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.68, for a total transaction of $1,596,240.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,436 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,546,224.48. The trade was a 50.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Performance

ServisFirst Bancshares stock traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $69.32. 246,456 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 222,298. The stock has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66 and a beta of 0.89. The firm's 50 day moving average is $83.05 and its 200 day moving average is $86.52. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.11 and a 52-week high of $101.37.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 23.16% and a return on equity of 14.81%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. Analysts predict that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a dividend of $0.335 per share. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. ServisFirst Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SFBS. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on ServisFirst Bancshares from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised ServisFirst Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th.

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.