ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

ServisFirst Bancshares Trading Down 1.8 %

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 firm has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $86.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.73.

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

ServisFirst Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. ServisFirst Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of ServisFirst Bancshares 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,285.20. This trade represents a 10.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Rodney Eldon Rushing sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 307,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,805,505.46. This represents a 3.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ServisFirst Bancshares

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth $234,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,157,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $93,126,000 after acquiring an additional 23,555 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 33,313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,680,000 after buying an additional 698 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 150.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 100,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,101,000 after purchasing an additional 60,517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.4% during the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.