Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Buys 216,894 Shares of SouthState Co. $SSB

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in SouthState Co. by 23.1%, owning a total of 1,153,842 shares valued at approximately $107.1 million as of the first quarter.
• SouthState recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, up from the previous dividend of $0.54, representing an annual yield of 2.4%.
• The company's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $2.30, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.32, and a revenue of $840.5 million, surpassing consensus estimates.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) by 23.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,153,842 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 216,894 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 1.14% of SouthState worth $107,100,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in SouthState by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 943 shares of the bank's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in SouthState by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,368 shares of the bank's stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in SouthState by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,547 shares of the bank's stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of SouthState by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the bank's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Liberty One Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of SouthState by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 8,222 shares of the bank's stock valued at $763,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SouthState Price Performance

Shares of SSB stock traded up $2.31 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $103.53. 638,785 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 906,701. SouthState Co. has a fifty-two week low of $77.74 and a fifty-two week high of $114.26. The stock's fifty day moving average is $98.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.49. The company has a market cap of $10.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.32. SouthState had a net margin of 22.38% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The business had revenue of $840.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $645.12 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that SouthState Co. will post 8.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SouthState Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from SouthState's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. SouthState's payout ratio is 35.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SouthState

In related news, Director G Stacy Smith bought 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $92.30 per share, for a total transaction of $230,750.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 39,546 shares in the company, valued at $3,650,095.80. This represents a 6.75% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Janet P. Froetscher bought 3,338 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $97.31 per share, for a total transaction of $324,820.78. Following the completion of 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. Insiders bought a total of 8,338 shares of company stock worth $786,321 over the last quarter. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SSB. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of SouthState from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of SouthState from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Hovde Group raised their price target on shares of SouthState from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of SouthState in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 target price (up previously from $113.00) on shares of SouthState in a report on Monday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SouthState currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $115.27.

SouthState Company Profile

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.