Southern States Bancshares (NASDAQ:SSBK) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Hovde Group

Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Southern States Bancshares (NASDAQ:SSBK) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating on the stock.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an outperform rating and set a $36.00 target price (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Southern States Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Southern States Bancshares Price Performance

SSBK opened at $29.58 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $30.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.14. Southern States Bancshares has a 12-month low of $21.70 and a 12-month high of $34.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $263.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22 and a beta of 0.22.

Southern States Bancshares (NASDAQ:SSBK) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.11. Southern States Bancshares had a return on equity of 15.64% and a net margin of 20.68%. The firm had revenue of $42.38 million for the quarter.

Southern States Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. Southern States Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern States Bancshares news, Director Brent O. Hitson sold 5,747 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.22, for a total transaction of $190,915.34. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $789,074.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Lynn J. Joyce sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.25, for a total transaction of $34,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 43,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,479,189. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brent O. Hitson sold 5,747 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.22, for a total value of $190,915.34. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $789,074.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,742 shares of company stock worth $448,035 in the last quarter. 14.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern States Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Southern States Bancshares by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southern States Bancshares by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 24,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $644,000 after acquiring an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern States Bancshares by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 349,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,066,000 after acquiring an additional 2,782 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Southern States Bancshares by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 40,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,087,000 after acquiring an additional 3,708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern States Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth about $245,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.73% of the company’s stock.

Southern States Bancshares Company Profile

Southern States Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Southern States Bank that provides community banking services to businesses and individuals. The company provides various deposit products, such as savings, money market, and noninterest-bearing demand accounts; certificates of deposit; and time deposits.