SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) Holdings Boosted by Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in SouthState Co. by 36.2%, acquiring an additional 263,194 shares, bringing its total ownership to 990,535 shares, valued at approximately $91,941,000.
• SouthState recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, up from its previous $0.54, translating to an annualized yield of 2.6%.
• Following recent earnings results, analysts have varied target prices for SouthState, with Citigroup raising its target to $117.00 and maintaining a "buy" rating.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) by 36.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 990,535 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 263,194 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned 0.98% of SouthState worth $91,941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in SouthState in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of SouthState by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 508 shares of the bank's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of SouthState by 577.4% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 569 shares of the bank's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of SouthState by 181.7% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 586 shares of the bank's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of SouthState during the 1st quarter worth $69,000. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SouthState Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ:SSB traded up $0.51 on Friday, reaching $92.29. The stock had a trading volume of 899,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 944,922. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $92.83 and a 200 day moving average of $93.13. The stock has a market cap of $9.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 0.79. SouthState Co. has a 12-month low of $77.74 and a 12-month high of $114.26.

SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $840.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $645.12 million. SouthState had a net margin of 22.38% and a return on equity of 9.62%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that SouthState Co. will post 8.12 earnings per share for the current year.

SouthState Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This is an increase from SouthState's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. SouthState's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.77%.

Insider Transactions at SouthState

In other news, Director G Stacy Smith acquired 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $92.30 per share, with a total value of $230,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 39,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,650,095.80. This represents a 6.75% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Janet P. Froetscher acquired 3,338 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $97.31 per share, with a total value of $324,820.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,294 shares in the company, valued at $807,089.14. The trade was a 67.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 8,338 shares of company stock valued at $786,321. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SSB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $119.00 price objective on shares of SouthState in a report on Monday, April 28th. Hovde Group upped their price objective on SouthState from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $117.00 price objective (up from $113.00) on shares of SouthState in a report on Monday, July 28th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on SouthState in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $106.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on SouthState in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SouthState has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $115.27.

About SouthState

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.