Is SFST a high-quality business?

AlphaMadera's AlphaQuality grade scores Southern First Bancshares, Inc. on six pillars — profitability, capital efficiency, balance-sheet strength, growth durability, cash generation, and shareholder yield. The composite letter grade reflects how SFST compares to a Buffett-style quality bar.

What is Southern First Bancshares, Inc.'s AlphaQuality grade?

AlphaQuality assigns a letter grade (A through F) to SFST based on a six-pillar quantitative model. The live page shows the composite grade plus each pillar's individual score with the underlying metrics.

What makes SFST a quality stock?

AlphaQuality looks at return on capital, free-cash-flow margins, debt-to-equity, revenue stability, dividend and buyback policy, and operating-margin trend. Stocks scoring well across all six pillars earn higher grades — the methodology favors compounders over cyclicals.

SFST - Southern First Bancshares, Inc.

Price: -- -- | CONSENSUS: Hold DETAILS | PRICE TARGET: $64.00 DETAILS

AlphaQuality

Quantitative six-pillar business-quality grade

Banks, Insurers & Asset Managers

AlphaQuality — archetype-weighted quantitative grade

C 51.8 / 100 composite

Composite Grade

Composite of six pillars weighted for banks, insurers & asset managers businesses. Purely quantitative — no stock price or analyst input.

Profitability

Weight: 25%

D 39.0

Scored using ROA (NIM proxy) — financial-archetype substitution.

5yr Avg ROA 0.6% 56/100
Operating Margin Trend -9.56 pp/yr 0/100

Capital Efficiency

Weight: 20%

C 53.8

Scored using ROTCE — financial-archetype substitution.

5yr Avg ROTCE 7.3% 52/100
5yr Share-Count CAGR 0.3% 59/100

Growth Quality

Weight: 10%

B- 65.0

Scored using BVPS — financial-archetype substitution.

5yr BVPS CAGR 15.1% 100/100
5yr EPS CAGR -10.5% 0/100
Positive-EPS Years (5) 5/5 100/100

Cash Generation

Weight: 5%

A+ 97.5

Scored using OCF/NI — banks have no FCF concept.

5yr OCF/NI 1.47x 98/100

Balance Sheet

Weight: 30%

C- 48.9

Scored using Equity/Assets — financial-archetype substitution.

Equity / Assets 8.4% 68/100
Interest Coverage (EBIT/Int) 0.37x 5/100

Stability

Weight: 10%

C 52.1

EPS Volatility (σ/μ) 0.47 34/100
Piotroski F-Score 5 56/100
Negative-Revenue Years (5) 1/5 80/100

2 of 2 gurus held; 1 new buy; 1 trimmed.

Holders: 2 +1
Avg Δ position: -35.6%
New buys: 1
Full exits: 0

Wood new
Cooperman decreased -36%

How this is calculated

AlphaQuality grades six pillars from 0-100 and weights each by archetype:

Profitability (25%) — 5yr Avg ROA, Operating Margin Trend
Capital Efficiency (20%) — 5yr Avg ROTCE, 5yr Share-Count CAGR
Growth Quality (10%) — 5yr BVPS CAGR, 5yr EPS CAGR, Positive-EPS Years (5)
Cash Generation (5%) — 5yr OCF/NI
Balance Sheet (30%) — Equity / Assets, Interest Coverage (EBIT/Int)
Stability (10%) — EPS Volatility (σ/μ), Piotroski F-Score, Negative-Revenue Years (5)

We deliberately ignore stock price, analyst targets, and consensus ratings so the grade is suitable for backtesting forward returns. A minimum of 5 fiscal years of audited statements is required; distressed and highly leveraged infrastructure businesses are declared ungradable rather than forced into a numeric score.