JPMorgan Chase & Co. Grows Stake in Southside Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBSI)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Southside Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBSI - Free Report) by 79.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 385,154 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 170,287 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 1.27% of Southside Bancshares worth $12,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Southside Bancshares by 73.6% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 59,801 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,999,000 after buying an additional 25,350 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in Southside Bancshares by 119.5% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 53,571 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,791,000 after purchasing an additional 29,163 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Southside Bancshares by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 671,666 shares of the bank's stock valued at $22,458,000 after purchasing an additional 3,097 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Southside Bancshares by 137.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 59,263 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,981,000 after purchasing an additional 34,316 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Southside Bancshares during the third quarter valued at $233,000. 55.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Southside Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Southside Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ SBSI traded down $0.90 on Friday, reaching $29.85. 186,854 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 115,859. The firm has a market cap of $904.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $33.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.74. Southside Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.30 and a fifty-two week high of $38.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.70.

Southside Bancshares (NASDAQ:SBSI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $113.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.25 million. Southside Bancshares had a net margin of 18.94% and a return on equity of 10.64%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Southside Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southside Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.82%. Southside Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southside Bancshares news, insider Suni M. Davis sold 2,220 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total value of $79,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $331,272. This represents a 19.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Lee R. Gibson sold 3,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.74, for a total transaction of $121,242.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 57,272 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,104,173.28. This trade represents a 5.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

About Southside Bancshares

Southside Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Southside Bank that provides a range of financial services to individuals, businesses, municipal entities, and nonprofit organizations. Its deposit products include savings, money market, and interest and noninterest bearing checking accounts, as well as certificates of deposits.