StockNews.com Upgrades ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) to Hold

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Monday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on SFBS. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on ServisFirst Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SFBS traded down $0.96 during trading on Monday, hitting $93.62. 122,835 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 202,856. ServisFirst Bancshares has a 1-year low of $49.72 and a 1-year high of $100.14. The company has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.37 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $83.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.16.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.13. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.23% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $256.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $120.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that ServisFirst Bancshares will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at ServisFirst Bancshares

In other ServisFirst Bancshares news, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total transaction of $85,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at $724,285.20. This represents a 10.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Rodney Eldon Rushing sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.58, for a total value of $966,960.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 307,837 shares in the company, valued at $24,805,505.46. This trade represents a 3.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 7.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,157,350 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $93,126,000 after purchasing an additional 23,555 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 33,313 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,680,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 150.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 100,688 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,101,000 after acquiring an additional 60,517 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,569 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 76,113 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,123,000 after purchasing an additional 24,954 shares in the last quarter. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.