Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Share Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $34.31 and traded as high as $42.90. Southern First Bancshares shares last traded at $42.90, with a volume of 13,217 shares traded.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $40.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.42. The firm has a market cap of $346.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.62 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Julie Ann Fairchild sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total transaction of $45,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,840 shares in the company, valued at $264,143.20. This trade represents a 14.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 7.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southern First Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SFST. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Southern First Bancshares by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 28,280 shares of the bank's stock worth $827,000 after acquiring an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Southern First Bancshares by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,654 shares of the bank's stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 2,945 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 10,138 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in 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, Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 31.5% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 33,468 shares of the bank's stock worth $979,000 after purchasing an additional 8,025 shares in 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.