SouthState Bank (NYSE:SSB) Cut to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded SouthState Bank from “Hold” to “Sell,” despite MarketBeat’s broader analyst consensus remaining “Buy” with a $118.54 target price.
• SouthState Bank reported quarterly EPS of $2.30, missing the $2.40 consensus estimate, while revenue of $685.43 million also fell short of expectations.
• The stock opened at $105.73, with a market capitalization of approximately $10.25 billion; insiders sold about 34,831 shares worth $3.81 million over the past three months.

SouthState Bank (NYSE:SSB - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on SSB. UBS Group cut shares of SouthState Bank from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $108.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of SouthState Bank in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of SouthState Bank from $115.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $116.00 price objective on shares of SouthState Bank in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on SouthState Bank from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SouthState Bank presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $118.54.

SouthState Bank Price Performance

SouthState Bank stock opened at $105.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 0.78. The company's fifty day moving average price is $103.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.95. SouthState Bank has a 1 year low of $84.47 and a 1 year high of $112.20.

SouthState Bank (NYSE:SSB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $685.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $691.13 million. SouthState Bank had a return on equity of 10.23% and a net margin of 24.63%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that SouthState Bank will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at SouthState Bank

In other news, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.93, for a total value of $435,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 40,568 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,419,072.24. This represents a 8.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David Brooks sold 24,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 7,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $869,000. This represents a 75.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 34,831 shares of company stock valued at $3,814,274. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SouthState Bank

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SouthState Bank in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,823,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of SouthState Bank during the first quarter worth $4,898,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of SouthState Bank by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,858,127 shares of the company's stock worth $385,427,000 after acquiring an additional 123,549 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of SouthState Bank during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,099,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in SouthState Bank in the second quarter valued at $3,039,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company's stock.

SouthState Bank Company Profile

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

SouthState also offers business banking and treasury-management services, commercial real estate lending, equipment financing, wealth management and investment services.

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