Southern First Bancshares Poised for Comeback in 2024, Says Piper Sandler Analyst

Piper Sandler's Casey Orr Whitman upgraded their rating on Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ: SFST) from Hold to Strong Buy on 2024/01/03. The analyst also raised their price target by 29.4% from $34 to $44.

Whitman believes Southern First Bancshares has a good chance of "making a comeback" in 2024, given the growing conviction that the Fed will not continue rising interest rates and may begin cutting rates this year. "Because of substantial net interest margin pressure and a liabilities-sensitive balance sheet," the bank's stock price fell 41% over the past two years, the analyst told their readers.

With management having taken "some steps" to mitigate the impact of potential future rate spikes on liability, the company's net interest is well-positioned to recover once rates stabilize, and a rate cut would "add fuel to that fire," Whitman said.

The analyst noted that, overall, Piper Sandler has a high level of confidence in Southern First Bancshares as a financial institution.

This positive rating comes as 100% of top-rated analysts currently rate SFST as a Strong Buy or Buy, with no analysts seeing it as a Hold, and no analysts recommending or strongly recommending selling the stock.

Since SFST's last quarterly report on 2023/09/30, the stock price is up 36.6%. However, year-over-year, the stock is down 18.3%. During that period, SFST is trailing the S&P 500, which is down 23%.

Piper Sandler analyst Casey Orr Whitman is ranked by WallStreetZen in the top 13% out of 4,439 Wall Street analysts, with an average return of 18% and a 61.3% win rate. They specialize in the Financial Services sector.

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Southern First Bank that provides various banking products and services to the general public in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. The company operates through three segments: Commercial and Retail Banking, Mortgage Banking, and Corporate Operations. It accepts various deposit products, including checking accounts, commercial checking accounts, and savings accounts, as well as other time deposits, such as daily money market accounts and long-term certificates of deposit. The loan portfolio of Southern First Bancshares comprises commercial real estate loans, construction real estate loans, commercial business loans, consumer real estate and home equity loans, and other consumer loans. The company also provides other bank services, such as internet banking, cash management, safe deposit boxes, direct deposit, automatic drafts, bill payment, and mobile banking services. It operates through multiple retail offices located in Greenville, Charleston, Columbia, Raleigh, Greensboro, Charlotte, and Atlanta.

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