Southern States Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSBK) Short Interest Update

Southern States Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSBK) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 45,100 shares, a growth of 21.2% from the October 15th total of 37,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 17,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern States Bancshares news, Director Brent O. Hitson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jay F. Pumroy sold 2,995 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 100,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,237,868.62. This represents a 2.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 14.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SSBK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,782 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 worth $5,288,000 after buying an additional 2,717 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Southern States Bancshares by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 94,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,895,000 after buying an additional 2,902 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 9,244 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 3,708 shares in the last quarter. 58.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set 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 Southern States Bancshares from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Southern States Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SSBK traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $36.63. 17,475 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,924. The stock has a market capitalization of $326.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 0.21. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $31.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.30. 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 has a 1-year low of $22.13 and a 1-year high of $37.86.

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

Southern States Bancshares Announces Dividend

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

About Southern States Bancshares

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.