SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $103.56 and last traded at $103.47, with a volume of 184151 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $100.36.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stephens boosted their target price on SouthState from $88.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup assumed coverage on SouthState in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on SouthState from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of SouthState from $109.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of SouthState from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.89.

SouthState Trading Up 1.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.73 billion, a PE ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.25. SouthState had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The firm had revenue of $425.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $418.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that SouthState Co. will post 6.69 earnings per share for the current year.

SouthState Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.54 dividend. This is a positive change from SouthState’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. SouthState’s dividend payout ratio is 35.24%.

Insider Activity at SouthState

In related news, insider Daniel E. Bockhorst sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,332,800. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other SouthState news, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 5,000 shares of SouthState stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $500,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 36,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,696,400. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel E. Bockhorst sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $250,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,332,800. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SouthState

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of SouthState by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,196 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,768,000 after buying an additional 3,831 shares during the last quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas purchased a new position in SouthState in the third quarter worth about $1,124,000. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in SouthState during the third quarter worth approximately $286,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC raised its position in SouthState by 1,313.4% during the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 2,318 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 2,154 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of SouthState by 53.9% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 548 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

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.