ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on 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 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SFBS opened at $96.61 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $82.87 and its 200 day moving average is $73.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. ServisFirst Bancshares has a 1 year low of $46.06 and a 1 year high of $100.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.83 and a beta of 0.86.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $120.70 million. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 14.23%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that ServisFirst Bancshares will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. ServisFirst Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,285.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Rodney Eldon Rushing sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.58, for a total transaction of $966,960.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 307,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,805,505.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total transaction of $85,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,285.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ServisFirst Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 4,880.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 138.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth $84,000. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares during the third quarter worth $203,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 8.7% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.