Southern First Bancshares (SFST) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Southern First Bancshares is the bank holding company for Southern First Bank, a community-oriented financial institution headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, the company delivers a full spectrum of commercial and consumer banking services designed to meet the needs of small and midsize businesses, professionals, and individual customers. Southern First Bancshares operates under a relationship-driven model, emphasizing personalized service and local decision–making.

The company’s core offerings include deposit products such as checking, savings, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, alongside an array of lending solutions covering commercial real estate, construction, equipment financing and small business administration (SBA) loans. In addition to traditional banking services, Southern First Bancshares provides residential mortgage lending, cash management, treasury services and digital banking platforms that enable online account management, mobile deposits and real-time payments.

With a branch network focused primarily across Upstate South Carolina—and select markets in neighboring North Carolina and Georgia—Southern First Bancshares leverages its regional footprint to support local economic growth. The bank’s leadership team comprises experienced banking executives and community business leaders who guide strategy, risk management and client engagement initiatives. Through ongoing investment in technology and community outreach, Southern First Bancshares aims to strengthen its position as a trusted financial partner for businesses and individuals across the Southeastern region.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $44.54 to $46.00
• 50-Day Range: $38.03 to $45.35
• 52-Week Range: $29.14 to $46.00
• Volume: 13,723 shs
• Average Volume: 21,136 shs
• Market Capitalization: $366.38 million
• P/E Ratio: 16.59
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Price Target: $51.00
• Consensus Rating: Buy

Southern First Bancshares Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Southern First Bancshares scored higher than 70% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 544th out of 925 stocks in the finance sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 2.8 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Buy

Consensus Rating

Southern First Bancshares has received a consensus rating of Buy. The company's average rating score is 3.00, and is based on 1 buy rating, no hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Upside Potential

Southern First Bancshares has a consensus price target of $51.00, representing about 13.9% upside from its current price of $44.79.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Southern First Bancshares has only been the subject of 1 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 12.43%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Southern First Bancshares are expected to grow by 12.43% in the coming year, from $1.85 to $2.08 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Southern First Bancshares is 16.59, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 278.02.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Southern First Bancshares is 16.59, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Finance sector average P/E ratio of about 232.42.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Southern First Bancshares has a P/B Ratio of 1.11. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

0.75% of the float of Southern First Bancshares has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Southern First Bancshares has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.4, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Southern First Bancshares has recently increased by 10.66%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 0.0 / 5
• Dividend Strength: N/A

Dividend Yield

Southern First Bancshares does not currently pay a dividend.

Dividend Growth

Southern First Bancshares does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: N/A
• Environmental Score: N/A

Percentage of Shares Shorted

0.75% of the float of Southern First Bancshares has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Southern First Bancshares has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.4, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Southern First Bancshares has recently increased by 10.66%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 3.6 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.57

News Sentiment

Southern First Bancshares has a news sentiment score of 1.57. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.96 average news sentiment score of Finance companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 2 news articles for Southern First Bancshares this week, compared to 1 article on an average week.

Search Interest

Only 1 people have searched for SFST on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -50% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

1 people have added Southern First Bancshares to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Insider Trading: Selling Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Southern First Bancshares insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $40,264.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 7.06% of the stock of Southern First Bancshares is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

75.00% of the stock of Southern First Bancshares is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

SFST Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have SFST shares performed this year?

Southern First Bancshares' stock was trading at $39.75 at the beginning of 2025. Since then, SFST stock has increased by 12.7% and is now trading at $44.79.

How were Southern First Bancshares' earnings last quarter?

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July, 22nd. The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.16. The bank earned $28.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.80 million. Southern First Bancshares had a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 6.52% and a net margin of 10.09%.

Who are Southern First Bancshares' major shareholders?

Top institutional investors of Southern First Bancshares include Geode Capital Management LLC (2.21%), Fourthstone LLC (1.58%), American Century Companies Inc. (1.21%) and Bridgeway Capital Management LLC (0.64%). Insiders that own company stock include R Arthur Seaver Jr, Leighton M Cubbage, David G Ellison, David Andrew Borrmann, William M Aiken III, Calvin C Hurst, Anne S Ellefson, Julie Ann Fairchild, Terry Grayson-Caprio, William Iv Maner, Ray Lattimore, Anna T Locke and Silvia T King.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Southern First Bancshares?

Shares of SFST stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of Southern First Bancshares own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Southern First Bancshares investors own include Waste Connections (WCN), The RMR Group (RMR), iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC), DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH), American Water Works (AWK), AU Optronics (AUOTY) and Triple Flag Precious Metals (TFPM).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 7/22/2025
• Today: 9/06/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 10/28/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Finance
• Industry: BANKS - SOUTHEAST
• Sub-Industry: Banking
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:SFST
• CIK: 1090009
• Web: www.southernfirst.com
• Phone: (864) 679-9000
• Fax: 864-679-9099
• Employees: 290
• Year Founded: 1999

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Southern First Bancshares: $51.00
• High Price Target: $51.00
• Low Price Target: $51.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +13.9%
• Consensus Rating: Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 3.00
• Research Coverage: 1 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $2.70
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 16.59
• Forward P/E Ratio: 24.21
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $15.53 million
• Net Margins: 10.09%
• Pretax Margin: 12.98%
• Return on Equity: 6.52%
• Return on Assets: 0.52%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.77
• Current Ratio: 1.10
• Quick Ratio: 1.09

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $104.10 million
• Price / Sales: 3.52
• Cash Flow: $2.53 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 17.71
• Book Value: $40.50 per share
• Price / Book: 1.11

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 8,181,000
• Free Float: 7,603,000
• Market Cap: $366.43 million
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.84