Linscomb Wealth Inc. Purchases Shares of 15,659 SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Key Points

• Linscomb Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in SouthState Co. valued at approximately $1.45 million during the first quarter, purchasing 15,659 shares.
• SouthState recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.54 to $0.60 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.6% and a dividend payout ratio of 35.77%.
• Equities research analysts have set a consensus target price of $115.27 for SouthState shares, with several firms issuing "buy" ratings.

Linscomb Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 15,659 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,453,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SouthState Corp increased its stake in shares of SouthState by 39.8% in the first quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 61,316 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,691,000 after purchasing an additional 17,457 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in SouthState during the first quarter valued at $62,230,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in SouthState during the first quarter valued at $251,000. Angel Oak Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of SouthState in the 1st quarter worth $483,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of SouthState by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 245,603 shares of the bank's stock worth $22,797,000 after buying an additional 20,450 shares in the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SouthState Stock Down 0.1%

SouthState stock traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $97.55. 654,089 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 939,558. The business has a fifty day moving average of $93.27 and a 200 day moving average of $93.02. 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 $9.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02 and a beta of 0.79. SouthState Co. has a 12-month low of $77.74 and a 12-month high of $114.26.

SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 previous year, the business posted $1.74 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that SouthState Co. will post 8.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SouthState Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 2.5%. SouthState's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director G Stacy Smith bought 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 39,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,650,095.80. The trade was a 6.75% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Janet P. Froetscher bought 3,338 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $97.31 per share, with a total value of $324,820.78. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at $807,089.14. The trade was a 67.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 8,338 shares of company stock valued at $786,321 in the last three months. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on SSB. Raymond James Financial set a $110.00 price objective on shares of SouthState in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of SouthState in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $106.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 price objective (up from $113.00) on shares of SouthState in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of SouthState from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SouthState presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target 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.