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what it is
Southern First is a regional bank that takes deposits and turns them into loans across South Carolina.
how it gets paid
Last year Southern First made $211M in revenue. Commercial real estate lending was the main engine at $74M, or 35% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 5.1% last year. EDGAR shows quarterly revenue up 185% vs. prior year and EPS up 137%.
what just happened
Southern First posted $2.54 in EPS on $157M of revenue in the latest quarter, up from $1.07 EPS and $55M a year earlier.
At a glance
B balance sheet — gets the job done, barely
45/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
15.0x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
$3.75 fy2025 eps est
~$211M FY revenue (matches table)
xvary composite: 53/100 — below average
What they do
Southern First is a regional bank that takes deposits and turns them into loans across South Carolina.
This is a relationship bank, not a scale machine. It has 9 offices and 297 employees, which sounds small until you remember community banking is local trust turned into deposits. If your business already borrows, parks cash, and pays bills through one bank, leaving is annoying, and that stickiness helps protect revenue.
How they make money
$211M
annual revenue · their business grew +5.1% last year
Commercial real estate lending
$74M
Commercial business lending
$48M
Consumer real estate and home equity
$38M
Construction real estate lending
$30M
Deposit service and cash management fees
$21M
The products that matter
takes deposits and makes loans
Commercial & Consumer Banking
$211M · five rows (table)
The segment bridge above sums to $211M. Narrative elsewhere cites ~$10M mortgage banking as ~5% of revenue—that is a management carve-out; do not stack it on top of the five rows as a second $211M.
core mix
originates residential mortgages
Mortgage Banking
$10M · 5% of revenue
At $10M, this segment is too small to carry the stock. It is still large enough to make results look better or worse around the edges when housing activity shifts.
small but lumpy
capital allocation choice
Share Repurchases
$14.32M · 241,301 shares
This is not revenue, but it matters. A bank with no dividend spending $14.32M on buybacks is telling you management prefers shrinking the share count over paying cash out. For a $426M company, that choice is material.
capital return bet
Key numbers
15.0x
trailing p/e
You are paying 15 times trailing earnings, which is a plain bet that this rebound is real but not fully trusted.
$211M
annual revenue
That is the current size of the bank's earning engine, up 5.1% vs. prior year per EDGAR.
$3.75
fy2025 eps est
The FY2025 EPS estimate is the bridge between a cheap-looking stock and a stock that deserves a higher multiple.
38%
debt to capital
Long-term debt equals 38% of capital, which tells you this is not a fortress balance sheet story.
Financial health
B
strength
- balance sheet grade B — adequate — nothing special
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 55 / 100
- long-term debt $265M (38% of capital)
B — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for SFST right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
beat estimates
Southern First posted $2.54 in EPS on $157M of revenue in the latest quarter, up from $1.07 EPS and $55M a year earlier.
EDGAR shows quarterly revenue up 185% vs. prior year and EPS up 137%. also shows quarterly EPS improving through 2024, from $0.30 in Q1 to $0.70 in Q4, which says the recovery was building before the latest jump.
$157M
rev (q)
$2.54
eps (q)
+185%
rev vs. prior year (q)
the number that mattered
The 185% revenue jump matters most because small banks do not get many second chances with investors after earnings fall from $3.61 in 2022 to $1.66 in 2023.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
The central risk is simple: buybacks do not fix a mediocre operating story. Southern First is spending meaningful capital on repurchases while the market still shows skepticism through rising short interest. For a bank this small, that is a very public argument about value.
med
Short sellers are leaning against the rebound
Short interest increased as of March 15, 2026. That is a direct sign that some investors think the move from $29 to $56.43 has outrun the fundamentals.
If results stay merely fine instead of clearly better, bearish positioning gives the stock less room for error.
med
This revenue mix leaves little place to hide
The filing table shows five revenue lines totaling $211M. When filings cite ~$10M mortgage banking, treat it as a disclosed slice of that story—not an extra layer beyond the $211M total.
If funding costs rise, loan demand softens, or credit quality slips, the market has little reason to keep rewarding the stock with a richer narrative.
low
A small-cap holder exit hits harder here
Banc Funds Co. LLC reduced its position by 28.2% in Q3. In a $426M company, one meaningful holder move matters more than it would in a giant bank.
That does not break the thesis by itself. It does reduce the margin for disappointment if other holders decide the same thing.
low
Cybersecurity risk is part of the banking product
The company flags cybersecurity in its SEC filings. Banks sell trust for a living, which means a digital failure creates an operating problem and a reputation problem at the same time.
A breach would pressure costs, customer confidence, and management attention all at once.
Here is the kill criterion. If the bank misses the $3.75 EPS path and buybacks stop at the same time, the easiest bull argument disappears. If the core business holds and repurchases keep shrinking the share count, the story stays alive.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
capital return
buyback pace
The company spent $14.32M to repurchase 241,301 shares. Watch whether that pace survives now that the stock sits much closer to $62 than $29.
positioning
short interest update
The next short interest release matters. If bearish bets keep rising while management keeps buying back stock, the market is telling you the debate is still unresolved.
calendar
Q1 2026 earnings report
Late April 2026 is the next real test. You want evidence that the $211M five-line revenue base in the bridge is still growing cleanly enough to support the rebound.
business mix
mortgage contribution
Mortgage banking is only $10M, but it is still the swing variable at the margin. Better housing activity helps. A weaker tape reminds you how concentrated the bank really is.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
45 / 100
A 45 / 100 predictability score means estimates deserve caution. In human-speak, analysts do not fully trust the earnings path yet.
risk rank
3
Risk rank 3 puts the stock near the middle. Not a bunker stock. Not a collapse story either. You are getting ordinary stability with ordinary room for mistakes.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for SFST is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$56
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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