Public Sector Pension Investment Board Grows Stock Position in Southside Bancshares, Inc. $SBSI

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Southside Bancshares, Inc. by 26.7%, acquiring an additional 19,009 shares, bringing its total ownership to 90,308 shares valued at approximately $2.6 million.
• Southside Bancshares announced a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.44, which represents a yield of 4.8%.
• Wall Street analysts have given Southside Bancshares a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average price target increased to $35.00 from previous estimates.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Southside Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBSI - Free Report) by 26.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 90,308 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 19,009 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.30% of Southside Bancshares worth $2,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Southside Bancshares by 139.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 292,680 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,296,000 after acquiring an additional 170,685 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Southside Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth $2,187,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Southside Bancshares by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,319,916 shares of the bank's stock worth $41,921,000 after buying an additional 49,565 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Southside Bancshares by 2,583.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 35,881 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,039,000 after buying an additional 34,544 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southside Bancshares by 60.7% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 64,003 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 24,172 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.70% of the company's stock.

Southside Bancshares Stock Up 5.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:SBSI traded up $1.4880 during trading on Friday, reaching $31.1980. The stock had a trading volume of 163,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 117,278. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $29.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Southside Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $25.85 and a one year high of $38.00. The company has a market capitalization of $938.44 million, a P/E ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 0.68.

Southside Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Southside Bancshares's payout ratio is currently 51.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SBSI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Southside Bancshares from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southside Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Southside Bancshares presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $35.00.

About Southside Bancshares

Southside Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Southside Bank that provides a range of financial services to individuals, businesses, municipal entities, and nonprofit organizations. Its deposit products include savings, money market, and interest and noninterest bearing checking accounts, as well as certificates of deposits.