JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 8,390 Shares of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST - Free Report) by 136.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,518 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 8,390 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.18% of Southern First Bancshares worth $495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SFST. Fourthstone LLC acquired a new position in Southern First Bancshares during the third quarter worth $1,155,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 323,001 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,444,000 after acquiring an additional 10,138 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 47.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 25,303 shares of the bank's stock valued at $862,000 after acquiring an additional 8,111 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake 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, Princeton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $204,000. Institutional investors own 75.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern First Bancshares news, CAO Julie Ann Fairchild sold 1,000 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total value of $45,230.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,840 shares of the company's stock, valued at $264,143.20. The trade was a 14.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 7.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

Southern First Bancshares stock traded down $0.96 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $36.80. 16,579 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,961. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.98 and a 12 month high of $45.90. The firm has a market cap of $300.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $39.72 and a 200 day moving average of $36.78.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.70 EPS 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

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.