Critical Contrast: SouthState Bank (NYSE:SSB) & CoastalSouth Bancshares (NYSE:COSO)

SouthState Bank (NYSE:SSB) and CoastalSouth Bancshares (NYSE:COSO) are both financial services companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for SouthState Bank and CoastalSouth Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SouthState Bank	0	3	10	2	2.93
CoastalSouth Bancshares	0	1	1	0	2.50

SouthState Bank currently has a consensus price target of $115.31, suggesting a potential upside of 32.38%. Given SouthState Bank’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe SouthState Bank is more favorable than CoastalSouth Bancshares.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

89.8% of SouthState Bank shares are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of SouthState Bank shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares SouthState Bank and CoastalSouth Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SouthState Bank	20.25%	10.70%	1.42%
CoastalSouth Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares SouthState Bank and CoastalSouth Bancshares”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SouthState Bank	$2.39 billion	3.66	$534.78 million	$7.27	11.98
CoastalSouth Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

SouthState Bank has higher revenue and earnings than CoastalSouth Bancshares.

Summary

SouthState Bank beats CoastalSouth Bancshares on 10 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SouthState Bank

SouthState Corporation operates as the bank holding company for SouthState Bank, National Association that provides a range of banking services and products to individuals and companies. It accepts checking accounts, savings deposits, interest-bearing transaction accounts, certificates of deposits, money market accounts, and other time deposits. The company also offers commercial real estate loans, residential real estate loans, commercial, and industrial loans, as well as consumer loans, including auto, boat, and personal installment loans. In addition, it provides debit card, mobile and funds transfer products, and treasury management services comprising merchant, automated clearing house, lock-box, remote deposit capture, and other treasury services. Further, the company offers safe deposit boxes, bank money orders, wire transfer, brokerage services, and alternative investment products, including annuities, mutual funds, and trust and asset management services; and credit cards, letters of credit, and home equity lines of credit. As of December 31, 2021, it served customers through 281 branches in Florida, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia. SouthState Corporation also serves its customers through online, mobile, and telephone banking platforms. The company was formerly known as First Financial Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to SouthState Corporation in July 2013. SouthState Corporation was founded in 1933 and is headquartered in Winter Haven, Florida.

About CoastalSouth Bancshares

CoastalSouth Bancshares, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through our wholly owned subsidiary, Coastal States Bank, a South Carolina state-chartered commercial bank, we offer a full range of banking products and services designed for businesses, real estate professionals, and consumers looking for a deep and meaningful relationship with their bank. Today, we have a community banking presence in some of the fastest growing and most business-friendly markets in the U.S., namely the Lowcountry of South Carolina (Hilton Head Island, Bluffton, and Beaufort), nearby Savannah, Georgia, and the Atlanta, Georgia market. — In addition to our traditional community banking operations, we operate four specialty lines of business that provide scalability and diversification: • Senior Housing Lending – focuses on lending to operators across the spectrum of senior care, with an emphasis on assisted living; • Marine Lending – focuses on consumer loans primarily to high-net-worth borrowers secured by yachts and high-end sport fishing vessels; • Government Guaranteed Lending – focuses on origination of small business and other loans guaranteed by the SBA and USDA; and • Mortgage Banker Finance – focuses on mortgage warehouse lending to mortgage originators. By combining the relationship-based focus of a community bank with our specialty lines of business, we believe we can capitalize on the substantial growth opportunities available in our markets, particularly given the scarcity of community banks between $1.5 billion and $5.0 billion in total assets. Our principal executive offices are located in Atlanta, Georgia.