SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB) Upgraded at Raymond James

Raymond James upgraded shares of SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB) from an outperform rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Raymond James currently has $115.00 price target on the bank’s stock, down from their previous price target of $120.00.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of SouthState in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on SouthState in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $132.00 target price on the stock. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of SouthState in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded SouthState from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $106.00 to $128.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SouthState currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.40.

SouthState Stock Performance

Shares of SouthState stock opened at $81.47 on Wednesday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $97.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.31. The firm has a market cap of $8.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.68. SouthState has a 12 month low of $70.68 and a 12 month high of $114.27.

SouthState Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. SouthState’s payout ratio is currently 31.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Janet P. Froetscher bought 2,717 shares of SouthState stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $92.02 per share, for a total transaction of $250,018.34. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $431,481.78. The trade was a 137.78 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO William E. V. Matthews sold 6,531 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.29, for a total value of $707,241.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,107 shares in the company, valued at $3,693,447.03. This represents a 16.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of SouthState

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SSB. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in SouthState by 577.4% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 569 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in SouthState by 181.7% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 586 shares of the bank’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in SouthState by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 29,314 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,916,000 after acquiring an additional 9,594 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new position in SouthState during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $260,000. Finally, GTS Securities LLC acquired a new position in SouthState in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $594,000. 89.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SouthState Company 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.