HighTower Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) by 7.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,153 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 787 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in SouthState were worth $1,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of SouthState in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in SouthState by 53.9% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 548 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in SouthState in the second quarter worth $97,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in SouthState during the second quarter valued at $133,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of SouthState by 9,620.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,458 shares of the bank’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SouthState Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of SouthState stock opened at $106.31 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. SouthState Co. has a 12-month low of $70.68 and a 12-month high of $114.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.43 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $104.42 and its 200-day moving average is $93.48.

SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $426.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $429.47 million. SouthState had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 9.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that SouthState Co. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

SouthState Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. SouthState’s payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Insider Transactions at SouthState

In other SouthState news, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $500,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 36,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,696,400. This represents a 11.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SSB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup began coverage on shares of SouthState in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial lowered their target price on SouthState from $111.00 to $103.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on SouthState from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group started coverage on SouthState in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $132.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stephens raised SouthState from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SouthState has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.78.

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.