Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Purchases New Stake in SouthState Bank Corporation $SSB

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of SouthState Bank Corporation (NYSE:SSB) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 281,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,075,000. SouthState Bank makes up 1.1% of Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. grew its holdings in shares of SouthState Bank by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 16,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,555,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of SouthState Bank by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,754,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in SouthState Bank by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,670,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in SouthState Bank by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FourThought Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in SouthState Bank by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SSB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised SouthState Bank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $116.00 target price on shares of SouthState Bank in a report on Monday, July 27th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on SouthState Bank from $108.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded SouthState Bank from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Fundamental Research set a $120.00 price target on SouthState Bank in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $119.64.

SouthState Bank Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of SSB stock opened at $106.53 on Thursday. SouthState Bank Corporation has a 52-week low of $84.47 and a 52-week high of $112.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.05. The company has a market capitalization of $10.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 0.71.

SouthState Bank (NYSE:SSB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. SouthState Bank had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 10.67%. The firm had revenue of $672.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $676.83 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that SouthState Bank Corporation will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SouthState Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This is a boost from SouthState Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. SouthState Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SouthState Bank news, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.93, for a total value of $435,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 40,568 shares in the company, valued at $4,419,072.24. This represents a 8.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David R. Brooks sold 24,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total value of $2,711,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $869,000. This trade represents a 75.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 34,831 shares of company stock valued at $3,814,274 over the last ninety days. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About SouthState Bank

SouthState Bank (NYSE: SSB) is a bank holding company headquartered in Winter Haven, Florida, that provides a range of commercial and retail banking services. Through its subsidiary, SouthState Bank, the company serves businesses, institutions and individuals with deposit, lending and treasury management solutions. Its core business lines include commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate lending, consumer mortgages and home equity loans.

In addition to traditional lending and deposit products, SouthState Bank offers specialized services such as treasury and cash management, merchant services, payment solutions and online banking.