Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Buys 6,835 Shares of SouthState Co. $SSB

Key Points

• Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in SouthState Co. by 14.2% during the second quarter, totaling 54,881 shares valued at approximately $5,051,000.
• SouthState recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60, up from the previous $0.54, representing an annualized yield of 2.4%.
• The bank reported a Q2 EPS of $2.30, exceeding estimates of $1.98, with revenues of $840.50 million, significantly above forecasts of $645.12 million.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) by 14.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,881 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 6,835 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.05% of SouthState worth $5,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its position in shares of SouthState by 5.3% during the second quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 12,102 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of SouthState by 2.5% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 31,328 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,035,000 after acquiring an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC increased its holdings in SouthState by 3.8% in the second quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 35,244 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in SouthState by 282.2% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 85,145 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,903,000 after purchasing an additional 62,868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in SouthState in the first quarter valued at about $8,795,000. Institutional investors own 89.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at SouthState

In other SouthState news, Director G Stacy Smith acquired 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $92.30 per share, for a total transaction of $230,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 39,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,650,095.80. This represents a 6.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Janet P. Froetscher bought 3,338 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $97.31 per share, for a total transaction of $324,820.78. Following the purchase, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 8,338 shares of company stock worth $786,321 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

SouthState Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SSB traded up $0.57 on Tuesday, hitting $100.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 207,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 907,686. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $98.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 0.74. SouthState Co. has a one year low of $77.74 and a one year high of $114.26.

SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $840.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $645.12 million. SouthState had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 22.38%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that SouthState Co. will post 8.12 earnings per share for the current year.

SouthState Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This is a positive change from SouthState's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. SouthState's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SSB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Hovde Group upped their price objective on SouthState from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays increased their price target on SouthState from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 price target (up from $113.00) on shares of SouthState in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on SouthState from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $115.27.

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.