SouthState Bank Corporation (SSB) – What Are Researchers Saying About This Stock?

SouthState Bank Corporation (NYSE:SSB) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $118.54.

Several research firms recently issued reports on SSB. Barclays increased their target price on SouthState Bank from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Fundamental Research set a $120.00 target price on SouthState Bank in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. UBS Group cut SouthState Bank from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $108.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of SouthState Bank from $115.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $116.00 price objective on shares of SouthState Bank in a research note on Monday, July 27th.

SouthState Bank Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:SSB opened at $99.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.69 billion, a PE ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.36. SouthState Bank has a 12 month low of $84.47 and a 12 month high of $112.20.

SouthState Bank (NYSE:SSB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $672.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $676.83 million. SouthState Bank had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 10.67%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. Research analysts forecast that SouthState Bank will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

SouthState Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from SouthState Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. SouthState Bank’s payout ratio is currently 27.76%.

Insider Activity at SouthState Bank

In other SouthState Bank news, CFO William Matthews sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.93, for a total transaction of $435,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 40,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,419,072.24. The trade was a 8.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David R. Brooks sold 24,650 shares of SouthState Bank stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $2,711,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $869,000. This trade represents a 75.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 34,831 shares of company stock worth $3,814,274. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of SouthState Bank

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FJ Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of SouthState Bank by 54.0% in the 4th quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 813,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,515,000 after purchasing an additional 285,091 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new position in SouthState Bank during the second quarter worth about $1,823,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in SouthState Bank in the first quarter valued at about $4,898,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in SouthState Bank during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,099,000. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of SouthState Bank during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,930,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About SouthState Bank

SouthState Bank is a regional banking institution and the principal banking subsidiary of SouthState Corporation (NYSE: SSB). The bank provides financial products and services to individuals, businesses, institutions and municipalities, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer and commercial loans, residential mortgages, and lines of credit.

Its business also includes commercial banking, treasury and cash-management services, equipment financing, small-business lending, and wealth-management and trust services.