Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Invests $21.50 Million in SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of SouthState Co. (NASDAQ:SSB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 216,100 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $21,498,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.28% of SouthState at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of SouthState by 46.6% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,342 shares of the bank's stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 1,063 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of SouthState during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,008,000. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in shares of SouthState by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,786 shares of the bank's stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its position in shares of SouthState by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 12,516 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,245,000 after purchasing an additional 2,502 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SouthState by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,057 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,949,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SouthState Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:SSB traded up $1.17 on Friday, hitting $99.80. 535,536 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 820,348. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.92. SouthState Co. has a 52 week low of $70.68 and a 52 week high of $114.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40 and a beta of 0.70. The company's 50-day moving average price is $104.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.36.

SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $426.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $429.47 million. SouthState had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 9.41%. SouthState's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SouthState Co. will post 6.99 earnings per share for the current year.

SouthState Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. SouthState's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SSB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $120.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of SouthState in a report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group began coverage on SouthState in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $132.00 price target on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of SouthState in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Hovde Group downgraded SouthState from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on SouthState from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.56.

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.