ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on ServisFirst Bancshares from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Hovde Group raised their price target on ServisFirst Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:SFBS opened at $84.32 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. ServisFirst Bancshares has a 52-week low of $58.05 and a 52-week high of $101.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $91.26 and a 200 day moving average of $81.07.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $256.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.70 million. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.23% and a net margin of 21.16%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that ServisFirst Bancshares will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at ServisFirst Bancshares

In other ServisFirst Bancshares news, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total transaction of $85,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,285.20. The trade was a 10.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 7.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ServisFirst Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SFBS. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,377,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $191,241,000 after buying an additional 60,683 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 3.0% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,157,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $93,126,000 after purchasing an additional 23,555 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 11.6% in 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 buying an additional 108,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 708,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,983,000 after acquiring an additional 83,804 shares during the period. 67.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.