Earnest Partners LLC Sells 61,260 Shares of SouthState Bank Corporation $SSB

Key Points

• Earnest Partners LLC sold 61,260 shares of SouthState (a 4.3% reduction), leaving it with 1,350,348 shares—about 1.34% ownership—valued at roughly $133.5 million.
• SouthState beat expectations with Q EPS of $2.47 versus $2.30 estimated and revenue of $686.9M vs $667.9M, and it pays a quarterly dividend of $0.60 ($2.40 annual, ~2.7% yield; 30.5% payout ratio).
• Analysts are broadly bullish—average price target about $118.71 with several firms raising targets up to $126—and institutional investors hold roughly 89.8% of the stock.

Earnest Partners LLC decreased its position in SouthState Bank Corporation (NYSE:SSB - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,350,348 shares of the company's stock after selling 61,260 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned approximately 1.34% of SouthState Bank worth $133,509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SSB. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in SouthState Bank by 1,554.4% in the 3rd quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,864 shares of the company's stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 4,570 shares in the last quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SouthState Bank by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 91,030 shares of the company's stock worth $9,000,000 after buying an additional 3,450 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of SouthState Bank by 8.3% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 170,156 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,823,000 after acquiring an additional 12,971 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of SouthState Bank by 187.1% during the third quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 19,243 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,903,000 after acquiring an additional 12,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in SouthState Bank during the third quarter worth $1,483,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

SouthState Bank Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of SouthState Bank stock opened at $90.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.73. SouthState Bank Corporation has a 52-week low of $77.74 and a 52-week high of $108.46. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $100.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.78.

SouthState Bank (NYSE:SSB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.17. SouthState Bank had a net margin of 21.26% and a return on equity of 10.86%. The company had revenue of $686.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $667.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share.

SouthState Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. SouthState Bank's payout ratio is presently 30.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on SSB shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on SouthState Bank from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on SouthState Bank in a research note on Friday, December 12th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of SouthState Bank from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of SouthState Bank from $122.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on shares of SouthState Bank from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SouthState Bank presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $118.71.

SouthState Bank Company Profile

SouthState Bank NYSE: SSB is a bank holding company headquartered in Winter Haven, Florida, that provides a range of commercial and retail banking services. Through its subsidiary, SouthState Bank, the company serves businesses, institutions and individuals with deposit, lending and treasury management solutions. Its core business lines include commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate lending, consumer mortgages and home equity loans.

In addition to traditional lending and deposit products, SouthState Bank offers specialized services such as treasury and cash management, merchant services, payment solutions and online banking.

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