Southside Bancshares (NASDAQ:SBSI) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Southside Bancshares (NASDAQ:SBSI - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on SBSI. Raymond James initiated coverage on Southside Bancshares in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Stephens cut their price target on Southside Bancshares from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th.

Southside Bancshares Trading Down 0.2%

Southside Bancshares stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $29.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 116,124. Southside Bancshares has a one year low of $25.30 and a one year high of $38.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a 50 day moving average of $28.40 and a 200-day moving average of $31.26. The stock has a market cap of $899.17 million, a PE ratio of 10.23 and a beta of 0.65.

Southside Bancshares (NASDAQ:SBSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.04. Southside Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 19.40%. The firm had revenue of $100.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $67.37 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Southside Bancshares will post 2.84 EPS for the current year.

Southside Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Southside Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southside Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Southside Bancshares by 126.3% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 8,802 shares of the bank's stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 4,912 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southside Bancshares by 8.8% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 307,188 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,896,000 after acquiring an additional 24,934 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Southside Bancshares by 26.7% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 90,308 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,615,000 after acquiring an additional 19,009 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southside Bancshares in the first quarter worth about $2,187,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Southside Bancshares by 14.0% during the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 62,126 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,799,000 after buying an additional 7,644 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.70% of the company's stock.

Southside Bancshares Company Profile

Southside Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Southside Bank that provides a range of financial services to individuals, businesses, municipal entities, and nonprofit organizations. Its deposit products include savings, money market, and interest and noninterest bearing checking accounts, as well as certificates of deposits.