Hancock Whitney Corp Makes New $255,000 Investment in SouthState Co. $SSB

Key Points

• Hancock Whitney Corp purchased 2,751 shares of SouthState Co., valued at approximately $255,000, marking a growing interest in the bank's stock.
• SouthState recently reported earnings of $2.30 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.98, and announced an increased quarterly dividend of $0.60.
• Institutional investors own 89.76% of SouthState's stock, indicating strong backing from major funds and investors.

Hancock Whitney Corp acquired a new stake in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,751 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SSB. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in SouthState during the fourth quarter worth about $219,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of SouthState by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 84,133 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,370,000 after purchasing an additional 21,114 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of SouthState by 53.2% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 51,805 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,154,000 after acquiring an additional 17,981 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of SouthState by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 43,277 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,305,000 after acquiring an additional 1,686 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Janet P. Froetscher purchased 3,338 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $97.31 per share, for a total transaction of $324,820.78. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 8,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $807,089.14. This represents a 67.35% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel E. Bockhorst sold 5,000 shares of SouthState stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.60, for a total value of $498,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 31,785 shares in the company, valued at $3,165,786. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 8,338 shares of company stock worth $786,321. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

SouthState Stock Performance

SSB traded down $0.89 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $101.31. 569,164 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 912,286. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 0.74. The company's 50-day moving average is $97.81 and its 200 day moving average is $92.39. SouthState Co. has a 52 week low of $77.74 and a 52 week high of $114.26.

SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.32. SouthState had a net margin of 22.38% and a return on equity of 9.62%. The firm had revenue of $840.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $645.12 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that SouthState Co. will post 8.12 EPS for the current year.

SouthState Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This is a positive change from SouthState's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. SouthState's payout ratio is 35.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on SSB. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of SouthState in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of SouthState from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of SouthState from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 target price (up from $113.00) on shares of SouthState in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of SouthState from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SouthState has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $115.27.

SouthState 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.