Polaris Capital Management LLC Takes $2.91 Million Position in SouthState Bank Corporation $SSB

Polaris Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of SouthState Bank Corporation (NYSE:SSB) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 29,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,913,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in SouthState Bank by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in SouthState Bank during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of SouthState Bank during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SouthState Bank during the 1st quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of SouthState Bank in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SouthState Bank Stock Performance

SSB opened at $110.98 on Friday. SouthState Bank Corporation has a 1-year low of $84.47 and a 1-year high of $111.74. The stock has a market cap of $10.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

SouthState Bank (NYSE:SSB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $672.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $676.83 million. SouthState Bank had a return on equity of 10.67% and a net margin of 25.09%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that SouthState Bank Corporation will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SouthState Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This is an increase from SouthState Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. SouthState Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded SouthState Bank from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on SouthState Bank from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. UBS Group lowered shares of SouthState Bank from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $108.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of SouthState Bank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of SouthState Bank from $123.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SouthState Bank has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David R. Brooks sold 24,650 shares of SouthState Bank stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 75.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is 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.