ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $100.21 and last traded at $100.08, with a volume of 12311 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $96.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFBS has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com cut ServisFirst Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday. Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd.

ServisFirst Bancshares Trading Down 1.8 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00 and a beta of 0.86.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.13. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 14.23%. The firm had revenue of $256.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. ServisFirst Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total value of $85,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,501 shares in the company, valued at $724,285.20. This represents a 10.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Rodney Eldon Rushing sold 12,000 shares of ServisFirst Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.58, for a total value of $966,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 307,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,805,505.46. This represents a 3.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ServisFirst Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth about $2,125,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,230,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,775,000 after buying an additional 36,302 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 286.8% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 64,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,048,000 after buying an additional 47,502 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 156,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,898,000 after acquiring an additional 46,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares during the second quarter worth $408,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.31% of the company’s stock.

About ServisFirst Bancshares

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.