29,029 Shares in SouthState Co. $SSB Acquired by Element Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Element Capital Management LLC purchased 29,029 shares of SouthState Co. for approximately $2.694 million, indicating growing institutional interest in the bank.
• Insider transactions show increased buying activity with directors acquiring shares, suggesting confidence in the company's performance.
• SouthState's upcoming quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share reflects a boost from the previous $0.54, with a yield of 2.5% and a payout ratio of 35.77%.

Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 29,029 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $2,694,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SSB. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new stake in SouthState during the fourth quarter valued at $213,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in SouthState during the fourth quarter valued at $201,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in SouthState during the fourth quarter valued at $5,682,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its position in SouthState by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 52,159 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,189,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in SouthState by 104.4% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,072 shares of the bank's stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 2,080 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at SouthState

In other news, Director G Stacy Smith purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $92.30 per share, with a total value of $230,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 39,546 shares in the company, valued at $3,650,095.80. The trade was a 6.75% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Janet P. Froetscher acquired 3,338 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $97.31 per share, with a total value of $324,820.78. Following the acquisition, the director owned 8,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $807,089.14. This trade represents a 67.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 8,338 shares of company stock valued at $786,321. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

SouthState Trading Down 2.0%

SSB traded down $1.96 during trading on Friday, hitting $95.57. 813,110 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 938,743. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $9.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.69. SouthState Co. has a 1 year low of $77.74 and a 1 year high of $114.26.

SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $840.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $645.12 million. SouthState had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 22.38%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that SouthState Co. will post 8.12 EPS for the current year.

SouthState Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from SouthState's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. SouthState's payout ratio is presently 35.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on SSB. Truist Financial initiated coverage on SouthState in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $106.00 price objective for the company. Hovde Group boosted their price target on SouthState from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial set a $110.00 price target on SouthState in a report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays boosted their price target on SouthState from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on SouthState in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $115.27.

About SouthState

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 offers checking accounts, savings deposits, interest-bearing transaction accounts, certificates of deposits, money market accounts, and other time deposits, as well as bond accounting, asset/liability consulting related activities, and other clearing and corporate checking account services.