KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases 4,035 Shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in SouthState Co. by 26.1% during the first quarter, owning a total of 19,515 shares worth approximately $1.81 million.
• SouthState recently reported earnings of $2.30 EPS, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.98, with significant revenues of $840.5 million compared to the estimated $645.12 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.60 per share from the previous $0.54, reflecting an annualized dividend of $2.40 and a yield of 2.44%.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its holdings in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) by 26.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,515 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 4,035 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in SouthState were worth $1,811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SSB. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in SouthState by 153.6% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 10,229 shares of the bank's stock valued at $949,000 after acquiring an additional 6,196 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of SouthState by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 773,843 shares of the bank's stock worth $76,982,000 after buying an additional 42,041 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in SouthState by 68.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,172 shares of the bank's stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in SouthState by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,093,176 shares of the bank's stock worth $100,856,000 after buying an additional 51,933 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in SouthState by 32.1% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 11,492 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,066,000 after purchasing an additional 2,790 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on SSB shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on SouthState in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $119.00 price target on shares of SouthState in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $120.00 price objective (up from $117.00) on shares of SouthState in a report on Monday. 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. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of SouthState in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $106.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $115.27.

SouthState Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SSB traded down $0.80 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $97.70. The company had a trading volume of 1,547,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 950,028. SouthState Co. has a 52-week low of $77.74 and a 52-week high of $114.26. The company's 50 day moving average price is $91.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.31. The stock has a market cap of $9.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.04 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The firm had revenue of $840.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $645.12 million. SouthState had a net margin of 22.38% and a return on equity of 9.62%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that SouthState Co. will post 8.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SouthState Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This is a boost from SouthState's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. SouthState's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.77%.

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.