Here's What We Think About Southern First Bancshares, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:SFST) CEO Pay
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Art Seaver has been the CEO of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) since 1999. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.
Check out our latest analysis for Southern First Bancshares
How Does Art Seaver's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
Our data indicates that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. is worth US$272m, and total annual CEO compensation is US$1.0m. (This is based on the year to December 2018). That's a notable increase of 13% on last year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at US$475k. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations from US$100m to US$400m, and the median CEO total compensation was US$1.1m.
So Art Seaver is paid around the average of the companies we looked at. This doesn't tell us a whole lot on its own, but looking at the performance of the actual business will give us useful context.
You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Southern First Bancshares, below.
Is Southern First Bancshares, Inc. Growing?
Over the last three years Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 16% per year (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 16% over the last year.
This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. It's also good to see decent revenue growth in the last year, suggesting the business is healthy and growing. You might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for future earnings.
Has Southern First Bancshares, Inc. Been A Good Investment?
Boasting a total shareholder return of 47% over three years, Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has done well by shareholders. This strong performance might mean some shareholders don't mind if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for a company of its size.
In Summary...
Remuneration for Art Seaver is close enough to the median pay for a CEO of a similar sized company .
The company is growing earnings per share and total shareholder returns have been pleasing. Indeed, many might consider the pay rather modest, given the solid company performance! Whatever your view on compensation, you might want to check if insiders are buying or selling Southern First Bancshares shares (free trial).
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
