Vident Advisory LLC Buys Shares of 2,897 SouthState Co. $SSB

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC acquired 2,897 shares of SouthState Co. valued at approximately $269,000 in the 1st quarter, reflecting growing institutional interest with over 89% of stock owned by institutional investors.
• SouthState has recently seen a series of positive rating adjustments from analysts, with Citigroup and DA Davidson setting target prices at $117.00, indicating strong buy sentiments among experts.
• The bank announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.60 per share, a rise from its previous dividend of $0.54, showcasing a healthy return on investment for shareholders.

Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new position in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,897 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $269,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of SouthState in the 1st quarter worth $471,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of SouthState by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 805,427 shares of the bank's stock worth $74,760,000 after acquiring an additional 31,584 shares in the last quarter. Carlson Capital L.P. bought a new position in shares of SouthState in the 1st quarter worth $408,000. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of SouthState in the 1st quarter worth $423,000. Finally, Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in SouthState during the 1st quarter valued at about $417,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $117.00 target price (up from $113.00) on shares of SouthState in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on SouthState in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $106.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson upped their target price on SouthState from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Barclays boosted their price target on SouthState from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Hovde Group boosted 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. Two investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $115.27.

SouthState Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of SSB opened at $100.98 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $10.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51 and a beta of 0.74. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $97.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.35.

SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $840.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $645.12 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that SouthState Co. will post 8.12 EPS for the current year.

SouthState Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is an increase 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%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. SouthState's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SouthState news, Director Janet P. Froetscher purchased 3,338 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director owned 8,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at $807,089.14. This trade represents a 67.35% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director G Stacy Smith purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $92.30 per share, for a total transaction of $230,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 39,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,650,095.80. This represents a 6.75% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 8,338 shares of company stock worth $786,321. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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