StockNews.com Upgrades Southside Bancshares (NASDAQ:SBSI) to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Southside Bancshares (NASDAQ:SBSI - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday morning.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on SBSI. Stephens cut their target price on Southside Bancshares from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James assumed coverage on Southside Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company.

Southside Bancshares Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of SBSI traded down $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $30.95. The stock had a trading volume of 118,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 118,020. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $937.94 million, a P/E ratio of 10.63 and a beta of 0.57. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $32.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.19. Southside Bancshares has a 12-month low of $25.30 and a 12-month high of $38.00.

Southside Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.65%. Southside Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Suni M. Davis sold 2,220 shares of Southside Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total transaction of $79,920.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $331,272. The trade was a 19.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lee R. Gibson sold 3,300 shares of Southside Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.74, for a total value of $121,242.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 57,272 shares in the company, 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. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SBSI. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Southside Bancshares by 61.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,337 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Southside Bancshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Southside Bancshares by 190.1% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,884 shares of the bank's stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 1,890 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Southside Bancshares by 172.6% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,176 shares of the bank's stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 2,011 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Southside Bancshares by 226.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,432 shares of the bank's stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 2,382 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.70% 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.