Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 180 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares were worth $261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFBS. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth $69,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 169.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $197,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth $208,000. Institutional investors own 67.31% of the company’s stock.

ServisFirst Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of SFBS stock opened at $70.60 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $86.38 and its 200 day moving average is $87.21. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.11 and a 1-year high of $101.37. 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 $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.97 and a beta of 0.89.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 23.16% and a return on equity of 14.81%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. Research analysts predict that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.335 per share. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. ServisFirst Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 32.21%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christopher J. Mettler sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.68, for a total value of $1,596,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,546,224.48. This trade represents a 50.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on SFBS shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on ServisFirst Bancshares from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th.

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.