SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) has received a consensus rating of "Buy" from 13 brokerages, with ten analysts issuing buy ratings and two giving a strong buy rating. The average 1-year target price is approximately $117.08.
• The company's quarterly dividend was recently increased from $0.54 to $0.60, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.4% with a payout ratio of about 35.77%.
• SouthState reported an EPS of $2.30 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and demonstrating strong financial performance with revenue of $840.5 million, significantly higher than analyst expectations.

Shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $117.0769.

SSB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Hovde Group boosted their target price on SouthState from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Cowen initiated coverage on SouthState in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating for the company. National Bankshares set a $127.00 target price on SouthState in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their target price on SouthState from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Citigroup restated 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.

Insider Transactions at SouthState

In other news, insider Daniel E. Bockhorst sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.60, for a total value of $498,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,165,786. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director G Stacy Smith acquired 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $92.30 per share, with a total value of $230,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders bought 8,338 shares of company stock worth $786,321. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SouthState

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SSB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SouthState by 31.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,079,578 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,028,406,000 after purchasing an additional 2,637,786 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of SouthState by 9,074.2% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,435,668 shares of the bank's stock valued at $132,125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,019 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of SouthState in the 2nd quarter valued at about $109,029,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of SouthState by 34.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,556,410 shares of the bank's stock valued at $422,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164,348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in shares of SouthState in the 2nd quarter valued at about $81,769,000. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SouthState Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SSB opened at $101.15 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $10.24 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 0.74. SouthState has a fifty-two week low of $77.74 and a fifty-two week high of $114.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $98.61 and a 200-day moving average of $92.86.

SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.32. SouthState had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 22.38%.The business had revenue of $840.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $645.12 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that SouthState will post 8.12 earnings per share for the current year.

SouthState Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This is an increase from SouthState's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. SouthState's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.77%.

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.

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