Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST)

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC cut its position in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST - Free Report) by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 72,484 shares of the bank's stock after selling 19,400 shares during the quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned about 0.89% of Southern First Bancshares worth $2,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SFST. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 4.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 413,259 shares of the bank's stock worth $13,125,000 after purchasing an additional 16,012 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,430 shares of the bank's stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 92,293 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,699,000 after acquiring an additional 7,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Long Focus Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $292,000. 75.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Southern First Bancshares

In other news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 2,515 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.29, for a total value of $83,724.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 54,303 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,807,746.87. The trade was a 4.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Julie Ann Fairchild sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total transaction of $45,230.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $264,143.20. This represents a 14.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,549 shares of company stock valued at $223,348 over the last 90 days. 7.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of SFST stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $43.60. The company had a trading volume of 12,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,780. The stock's 50-day moving average is $39.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $355.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.20 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.98 and a 52 week high of $45.90.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.16. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 6.67% and a return on equity of 4.42%. The firm had revenue of $54.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern First Bancshares 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.