Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 675 Shares of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,105 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Southern First Bancshares were worth $600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Southern First Bancshares by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,066 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the third quarter worth approximately $101,000. Princeton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $204,000. De Lisle Partners LLP boosted its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 12,591 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Southern First Bancshares by 136.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,518 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 8,390 shares during the last quarter. 75.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

SFST stock opened at $35.78 on Wednesday. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.98 and a twelve month high of $45.90. The firm has a market cap of $291.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.64 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.29. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 4.85%. Analysts predict that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Southern First Bancshares

In other news, CAO Julie Ann Fairchild sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total transaction of $45,230.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,143.20. This represents a 14.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 7.62% of the company’s stock.

About Southern First Bancshares

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.