Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 3,221 Shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) by 30.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,221 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares were worth $1,103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 3.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,230,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,775,000 after acquiring an additional 36,302 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,037,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,466,000 after purchasing an additional 108,088 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 472,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,876,000 after purchasing an additional 7,450 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 2,704.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 415,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,428,000 after buying an additional 400,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 7.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 216,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,457,000 after buying an additional 14,859 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.31% of the company’s stock.

ServisFirst Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of SFBS opened at $97.24 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.50. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.72 and a 52-week high of $101.37.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $256.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $120.70 million. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.23% and a net margin of 21.16%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. ServisFirst Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.09%.

Insider Activity

In other ServisFirst Bancshares 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 transaction of $85,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,501 shares in the company, valued at $724,285.20. This trade represents a 10.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Rodney Eldon Rushing sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.58, for a total transaction of $966,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 307,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,805,505.46. This represents a 3.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered ServisFirst Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

ServisFirst Bancshares Company 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.