Norges Bank Makes New Investment in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 560,013 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $47,456,000. Norges Bank owned 1.03% of ServisFirst Bancshares as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in the third quarter worth $32,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth about $69,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 169.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 52.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,326 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $208,000. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFBS has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Up 7.7 %

NYSE SFBS traded up $5.30 on Wednesday, reaching $73.78. The stock had a trading volume of 496,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 222,181. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.11 and a 1 year high of $101.37. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $85.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74 and a beta of 0.89.

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

ServisFirst Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. ServisFirst Bancshares's payout ratio is presently 32.21%.

ServisFirst Bancshares Profile

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.