Empowered Funds LLC Invests $3.77 Million in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 37,891 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $3,769,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SSB. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of SouthState in the 4th quarter worth $21,498,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of SouthState by 64.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 265,578 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,809,000 after acquiring an additional 103,756 shares during the period. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of SouthState in the 3rd quarter worth $9,086,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SouthState by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 987,849 shares of the bank’s stock worth $95,999,000 after acquiring an additional 72,181 shares during the period. Finally, Prospector Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of SouthState by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 185,250 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,003,000 after acquiring an additional 64,013 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SouthState news, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 6,531 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.29, for a total transaction of $707,241.99. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,693,447.03. This trade represents a 16.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SSB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 price target (up previously from $115.00) on shares of SouthState in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of SouthState from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of SouthState in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $132.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of SouthState from $111.00 to $103.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of SouthState from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $106.00 to $128.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.44.

SouthState Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SSB opened at $103.20 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $102.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.85. SouthState Co. has a twelve month low of $70.68 and a twelve month high of $114.26. The company has a market capitalization of $7.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.83 and a beta of 0.70.

SouthState Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. SouthState’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.03%.

SouthState Profile

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.