Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $337,000 in Southside Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBSI)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southside Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBSI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 10,605 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $337,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SBSI. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Southside Bancshares by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 59,263 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,981,000 after purchasing an additional 34,316 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Southside Bancshares by 79.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 385,154 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,876,000 after purchasing an additional 170,287 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Southside Bancshares by 61.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,337 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in Southside Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $673,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southside Bancshares by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 78,013 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,478,000 after buying an additional 3,763 shares in the last quarter. 55.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southside Bancshares Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:SBSI traded up $0.09 during trading on Thursday, reaching $29.81. 11,670 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 116,210. Southside Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.30 and a 1-year high of $38.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $28.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $900.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.24 and a beta of 0.65.

Southside Bancshares (NASDAQ:SBSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $100.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.37 million. Southside Bancshares had a net margin of 19.40% and a return on equity of 11.10%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Southside Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southside Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Southside Bancshares's payout ratio is 49.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SBSI. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Southside Bancshares from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Southside Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th.

Southside Bancshares Company Profile

Southside Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Southside Bank that provides a range of financial services to individuals, businesses, municipal entities, and nonprofit organizations. Its deposit products include savings, money market, and interest and noninterest bearing checking accounts, as well as certificates of deposits.