Short Interest in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Grows By 24.5%

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 72,600 shares, an increase of 24.5% from the February 13th total of 58,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 18,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company's stock are sold short.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Down 1.3 %

Southern First Bancshares stock traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $33.23. The stock had a trading volume of 38,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,943. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $35.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.15. The company has a market capitalization of $271.72 million, a P/E ratio of 17.31 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Southern First Bancshares has a 12 month low of $24.98 and a 12 month high of $45.91.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.29. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 4.85% and a net margin of 7.28%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rhino Investment Partners Inc grew its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 2,936.8% during the fourth quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 230,221 shares of the bank's stock valued at $9,151,000 after buying an additional 222,640 shares during the last quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC bought a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,685,000. Fourthstone LLC acquired a new position in Southern First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,155,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 97,559 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,878,000 after purchasing an additional 14,966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 43.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 44,643 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,775,000 after purchasing an additional 13,503 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.00% of the company's stock.

Southern First Bancshares Company 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.