SouthState Bank Corporation (NYSE:SSB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• SouthState Bank Corporation has received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from fifteen analysts, with an average price target of $117.08.
• The bank reported $2.58 earnings per share in its latest quarter, surpassing analyst estimates and reflecting a significant year-over-year increase.
• SouthState Bank will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.60 on November 14th, representing an annualized yield of 2.7% and a payout ratio of 35.77%.

SouthState Bank Corporation (NYSE:SSB - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Buy" from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $117.0769.

A number of research firms have recently commented on SSB. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 price target (up previously from $113.00) on shares of SouthState Bank in a research report on Monday, July 28th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of SouthState Bank in a report on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $127.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of SouthState Bank in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of SouthState Bank from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of SouthState Bank from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th.

SouthState Bank Price Performance

NYSE SSB opened at $89.93 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average is $99.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. SouthState Bank has a fifty-two week low of $77.74 and a fifty-two week high of $114.26. The company has a market capitalization of $9.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37 and a beta of 0.68.

SouthState Bank (NYSE:SSB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.38. SouthState Bank had a return on equity of 11.12% and a net margin of 20.25%.The business had revenue of $698.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $660.41 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.90 EPS.

SouthState Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. SouthState Bank's payout ratio is presently 35.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director G Stacy Smith bought 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $92.30 per share, with a total value of $230,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 39,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,650,095.80. The trade was a 6.75% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Janet P. Froetscher bought 3,338 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $97.31 per share, for a total transaction of $324,820.78. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 8,338 shares of company stock valued at $786,321 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SouthState Bank

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of SouthState Bank by 44.5% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 300,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,850,000 after purchasing an additional 92,342 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of SouthState Bank by 153.6% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 10,229 shares of the company's stock valued at $949,000 after purchasing an additional 6,196 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of SouthState Bank by 68.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,172 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in SouthState Bank by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,093,176 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,856,000 after buying an additional 51,933 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in SouthState Bank by 32.1% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 11,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,066,000 after buying an additional 2,790 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About SouthState Bank

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 accepts checking accounts, savings deposits, interest-bearing transaction accounts, certificates of deposits, money market accounts, and other time deposits.

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