Freestone Grove Partners LP Purchases New Shares in SouthState Bank Corporation $SSB

Key Points

• Freestone Grove Partners purchased 30,720 SouthState Bank shares worth approximately $3.07 million, while institutional investors collectively own 89.76% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $119.64, despite some recent downgrades and target-price reductions.
• SouthState Bank beat quarterly EPS expectations ($2.35 versus $2.31) and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.66 per share, although insiders sold 34,831 shares worth about $3.81 million over the past 90 days.

Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of SouthState Bank Corporation (NYSE:SSB - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 30,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,069,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of SouthState Bank in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in SouthState Bank by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 420 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in SouthState Bank during the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in SouthState Bank in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SouthState Bank during the 1st quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on SouthState Bank from $123.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of SouthState Bank from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of SouthState Bank from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of SouthState Bank in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of SouthState Bank from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $108.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $119.64.

SouthState Bank Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of SouthState Bank stock opened at $106.00 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $104.31 and its 200 day moving average is $99.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 0.71. SouthState Bank Corporation has a 1 year low of $84.47 and a 1 year high of $112.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

SouthState Bank (NYSE:SSB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $672.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $676.83 million. SouthState Bank had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 10.67%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that SouthState Bank Corporation will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SouthState Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from SouthState Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. SouthState Bank's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David R. Brooks sold 24,650 shares of SouthState Bank stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 7,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $869,000. This trade represents a 75.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.93, for a total value of $435,720.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 40,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,419,072.24. This trade represents a 8.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 34,831 shares of company stock worth $3,814,274 in the last 90 days. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

SouthState Bank 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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