Short Interest in Southern States Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSBK) Expands By 21.7%

Southern States Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSBK - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 41,500 shares, an increase of 21.7% from the December 31st total of 34,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 21,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Southern States Bancshares Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Southern States Bancshares stock traded up $0.22 on Wednesday, hitting $33.10. 12,016 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 24,392. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Southern States Bancshares has a 12-month low of $22.13 and a 12-month high of $39.16. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $34.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.50. The company has a market cap of $327.03 million, a PE ratio of 9.02 and a beta of 0.33.

Southern States Bancshares (NASDAQ:SSBK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter. Southern States Bancshares had a return on equity of 15.04% and a net margin of 19.68%.

Southern States Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Southern States Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Southern States Bancshares by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,779 shares of the company's stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern States Bancshares by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,123 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Southern States Bancshares by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 36,689 shares of the company's stock worth $1,222,000 after acquiring an additional 2,592 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Southern States Bancshares by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 172,073 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,288,000 after purchasing an additional 2,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P increased its stake in shares of Southern States Bancshares by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 18,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $581,000 after acquiring an additional 2,812 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Hovde Group dropped their target price on shares of Southern States Bancshares from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

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.