Towne Bank (TOWN) Competitors

SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB) and Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, media sentiment, valuation, profitability, earnings, risk, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Does the media prefer SSB or TOWN?

In the previous week, SouthState had 8 more articles in the media than Towne Bank. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for SouthState and 1 mentions for Towne Bank. SouthState's average media sentiment score of 1.17 beat Towne Bank's score of 0.96 indicating that SouthState is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
SouthState	6 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Towne Bank	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in SSB or TOWN?

89.8% of SouthState shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.0% of Towne Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.7% of SouthState shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 8.1% of Towne Bank shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is SSB or TOWN a better dividend stock?

SouthState pays an annual dividend of $2.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Towne Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. SouthState pays out 34.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Towne Bank pays out 45.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. SouthState has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years and Towne Bank has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years.

Is SSB or TOWN more profitable?

SouthState has a net margin of 22.38% compared to Towne Bank's net margin of 17.15%. SouthState's return on equity of 9.62% beat Towne Bank's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SouthState	22.38%	9.62%	1.21%
Towne Bank	17.15%	8.27%	1.03%

Which has more volatility & risk, SSB or TOWN?

SouthState has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Towne Bank has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate SSB or TOWN?

SouthState currently has a consensus target price of $116.27, indicating a potential upside of 20.03%. Towne Bank has a consensus target price of $40.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.16%. Given SouthState's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe SouthState is more favorable than Towne Bank.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SouthState	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.09
Towne Bank	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, SSB or TOWN?

SouthState has higher revenue and earnings than Towne Bank. Towne Bank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SouthState, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SouthState	$1.88B	5.22	$534.78M	$6.33	15.30
Towne Bank	$1.03B	2.63	$161.76M	$2.36	15.25

Summary

SouthState beats Towne Bank on 15 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.