Short Interest in Southern States Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSBK) Increases By 21.2%

Southern States Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSBK) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 45,100 shares, an increase of 21.2% from the October 15th total of 37,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 17,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern States Bancshares

In related news, Director Brent O. Hitson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.17, for a total transaction of $62,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,753 shares in the company, valued at $678,041.01. This represents a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jay F. Pumroy sold 2,995 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.13, for a total transaction of $96,229.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 100,774 shares in the company, valued at $3,237,868.62. This represents a 2.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 14.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern States Bancshares

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SSBK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Southern States Bancshares by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 349,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,066,000 after acquiring an additional 2,782 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern States Bancshares by 1.6% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Southern States Bancshares by 3.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 94,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,895,000 after purchasing an additional 2,902 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Southern States Bancshares by 22.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 50,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,371,000 after buying an additional 9,244 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Southern States Bancshares by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 40,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,087,000 after buying an additional 3,708 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on SSBK shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 target price (up from $35.00) on shares of Southern States Bancshares in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Hovde Group reduced 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 report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Southern States Bancshares Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ SSBK traded up $0.06 on Friday, reaching $36.63. The company had a trading volume of 17,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,738. The firm has a market cap of $326.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 0.21. Southern States Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $22.13 and a fifty-two week high of $37.86. The business has a 50 day moving average of $31.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Southern States Bancshares (NASDAQ:SSBK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $46.83 million during the quarter. Southern States Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.88% and a net margin of 19.33%.

Southern States Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Southern States Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.14%.

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.