SouthState Bank Corporation (NYSE:SSB) Stock Has Average Price Target of $118.92 According to Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts remain bullish: SouthState Bank has a consensus “Buy” rating from 13 brokerages, with an average 12-month price target of $118.92 versus the reported share price of $100.78.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.35 in EPS versus the $2.31 consensus estimate, while revenue of $672.67 million fell slightly short of forecasts.
• SouthState raised its quarterly dividend from $0.60 to $0.66 per share, implying a $2.64 annualized payout and a 2.6% yield; meanwhile, insiders sold $3.81 million of stock over the past three months.

Shares of SouthState Bank Corporation (NYSE:SSB - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $118.92.

SSB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Fundamental Research set a $120.00 price objective on SouthState Bank in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings raised SouthState Bank from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of SouthState Bank from $108.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of SouthState Bank from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of SouthState Bank from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $108.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SouthState Bank news, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were 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 $4,419,072.24. This represents a 8.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Brooks sold 24,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total value of $2,711,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $869,000. This represents a 75.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 34,831 shares of company stock valued at $3,814,274. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of SouthState Bank

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SSB. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SouthState Bank during the second quarter worth approximately $981,557,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of SouthState Bank in the second quarter worth $130,419,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in SouthState Bank during the second quarter worth $85,467,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in SouthState Bank during the second quarter worth $59,792,000. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd. acquired a new position in SouthState Bank during the 2nd quarter valued at $57,293,000. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

SouthState Bank Price Performance

NYSE SSB opened at $100.78 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.77 billion, a PE ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $105.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.17. SouthState Bank has a 12-month low of $84.47 and a 12-month high of $112.20.

SouthState Bank (NYSE:SSB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. SouthState Bank had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 10.67%. The company had revenue of $672.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $676.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that SouthState Bank will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SouthState Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This is a boost from SouthState Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. SouthState Bank's payout ratio is 27.76%.

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.

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