Southside Bancshares (NYSE:SBSI) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Southside Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SBSI) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $35.50 and last traded at $35.37, with a volume of 5368 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $34.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SBSI shares. Benchmark initiated coverage on Southside Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southside Bancshares from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Southside Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Southside Bancshares Trading Up 0.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.02 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $33.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.31.

Southside Bancshares (NYSE:SBSI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $70.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.92 million. Southside Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 15.85%. On average, analysts expect that Southside Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southside Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Southside Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southside Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southside Bancshares by 388.2% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 251,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,103,000 after acquiring an additional 199,930 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Southside Bancshares by 224.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 100,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,118,000 after acquiring an additional 69,431 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Southside Bancshares in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,520,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in Southside Bancshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,339,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Southside Bancshares by 16.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 290,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,541,000 after purchasing an additional 42,057 shares in the last quarter. 55.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southside Bancshares Company Profile

Southside Bancshares Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Tyler, Texas. Through its subsidiary, Southside Bank, it provides a broad array of commercial and consumer banking services to individuals and businesses. The company’s offerings include deposit products, loan facilities and treasury management solutions tailored to the needs of its clientele. Established in 1974, Southside Bancshares has grown its footprint across East and North Texas while maintaining a community banking focus.

In the commercial banking segment, the company extends financing for real estate development, construction projects, equipment purchases and working capital needs.