Southside Bancshares (NYSE:SBSI) Stock Rating Raised to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Southside Bancshares (NYSE:SBSI) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on SBSI. Benchmark initiated coverage on Southside Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Southside Bancshares from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Stephens set a $37.00 price target on shares of Southside Bancshares in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Southside Bancshares from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Southside Bancshares from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.75.

Southside Bancshares Stock Performance

NYSE SBSI opened at $31.16 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $32.35 and a 200-day moving average of $32.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $929.00 million, a PE ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 0.58. Southside Bancshares has a 52-week low of $26.32 and a 52-week high of $36.20.

Southside Bancshares (NYSE:SBSI) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.04. Southside Bancshares had a net margin of 16.70% and a return on equity of 11.16%. The business had revenue of $71.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.00 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southside Bancshares will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Southside Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is an increase from Southside Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 20th. Southside Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southside Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southside Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $150,305,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Southside Bancshares by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,384,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,051,000 after purchasing an additional 7,496 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Southside Bancshares in the second quarter worth $9,213,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Southside Bancshares in the second quarter worth $4,545,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Southside Bancshares by 0.8% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 135,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares in the last quarter. 55.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Southside Bancshares

Southside Bancshares, Inc is a Texas-based bank holding company headquartered in Tyler, Texas. Its principal subsidiary, Southside Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, municipalities and other organizations.

Southside Bank offers deposit products such as checking and savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, along with commercial, real estate, residential mortgage and consumer lending. The bank also provides treasury management, online and mobile banking, wealth management, trust and investment services, and other financial solutions.

Founded in 1960, Southside Bank serves communities primarily across East, North and Central Texas through banking locations and digital channels.