Prudential Financial Inc. Reduces Stake in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 51,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 306 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares were worth $4,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFBS. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at $69,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 169.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares during the third quarter worth about $208,000. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on ServisFirst Bancshares from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Performance

NYSE SFBS opened at $82.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.85 and a beta of 0.91. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.11 and a 52-week high of $101.37. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $87.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.81% and a net margin of 23.16%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. ServisFirst Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.21%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christopher J. Mettler sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.68, for a total value of $1,596,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,436 shares in the company, valued at $1,546,224.48. This trade represents a 50.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

ServisFirst Bancshares Profile

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.