State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Raises Stock Holdings in SouthState Co. $SSB

Key Points

• State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in SouthState Co. by 20.5%, owning 30,059 shares worth approximately $2.79 million after buying an additional 5,121 shares in Q1.
• SouthState recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.60 per share from $0.54, yielding approximately 2.5% and reflecting a payout ratio of 35.77%.
• SouthState reported better-than-expected earnings of $2.30 per share, surpassing analysts' consensus estimates by $0.32, with revenue significantly exceeding forecasts at $840.50 million for the quarter.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its position in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) by 20.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,059 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 5,121 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in SouthState were worth $2,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in SouthState by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,769,537 shares of the bank's stock worth $164,249,000 after purchasing an additional 222,818 shares in the last quarter. Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SouthState in the first quarter valued at about $2,694,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of SouthState by 34.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,556,410 shares of the bank's stock valued at $422,915,000 after buying an additional 1,164,348 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of SouthState in the first quarter valued at about $604,000. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd increased its stake in shares of SouthState by 179.3% in the first quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd now owns 17,345 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,610,000 after buying an additional 11,135 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company's stock.

SouthState Stock Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:SSB traded up $0.96 on Tuesday, hitting $100.15. The stock had a trading volume of 602,360 shares, compared to its average volume of 922,309. SouthState Co. has a 52 week low of $77.74 and a 52 week high of $114.26. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $95.00 and its 200 day moving average is $92.39. The company has a market cap of $10.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 0.79.

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

SouthState Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Hovde Group increased their price target on SouthState from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $119.00 target price on shares of SouthState in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $117.00 target price (up previously from $113.00) on shares of SouthState in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on SouthState in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on SouthState from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $115.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Janet P. Froetscher bought 3,338 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $97.31 per share, for a total transaction of $324,820.78. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at $807,089.14. This trade represents a 67.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel E. Bockhorst sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have purchased 8,338 shares of company stock worth $786,321 over the last 90 days. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.