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

Southern States Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSBK) saw a significant growth in short interest during 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. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 17,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Insider Activity

In other Southern States Bancshares news, Director Brent O. Hitson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 21,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $678,041.01. The trade was a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jay F. Pumroy sold 2,995 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.13, for a total transaction of $96,229.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 100,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,237,868.62. This trade represents a 2.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 14.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southern States Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SSBK. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Southern States Bancshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Southern States Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $221,000. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern States Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $236,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased 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 during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern States Bancshares during the second quarter worth $245,000. Institutional investors own 58.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SSBK shares. Hovde Group dropped their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated 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.

Southern States Bancshares Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:SSBK traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $36.63. The stock had a trading volume of 17,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,924. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $326.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 0.21. The business’s 50 day moving average is $31.38 and its 200-day moving average is $29.30. Southern States Bancshares has a one year low of $22.13 and a one 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). Southern States Bancshares had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 14.88%. The firm had revenue of $46.83 million during the quarter.

Southern States Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Southern States Bancshares’s 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.