Short Interest in Southern States Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSBK) Drops By 17.9%

Southern States Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSBK) was the target of a large drop in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 37,200 shares, a drop of 17.9% from the September 30th total of 45,300 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 15,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Southern States Bancshares Stock Performance

Southern States Bancshares stock traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $31.08. The stock had a trading volume of 810 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,139. The company has a 50-day moving average of $30.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Southern States Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $22.13 and a fifty-two week high of $34.72. The company has a market cap of $277.23 million, a PE ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 0.21.

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

Southern States Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. Southern States Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 10.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SSBK shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Southern States Bancshares in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Hovde Group cut their price objective on Southern States Bancshares from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Insider Activity

In other Southern States Bancshares news, Director Brent O. Hitson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 21,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $678,041.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Brent O. Hitson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.17, for a total value of $62,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $678,041.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jay F. Pumroy sold 2,995 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.13, for a total value of $96,229.35. Following the transaction, the director now owns 100,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,237,868.62. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Southern States Bancshares by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern States Bancshares by 3.7% in the first quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 24,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $644,000 after acquiring an additional 886 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern States Bancshares by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 349,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,066,000 after acquiring an additional 2,782 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Southern States Bancshares by 10.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 40,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,087,000 after purchasing an additional 3,708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern States Bancshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $245,000. Institutional investors own 58.73% of the company’s stock.

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.