Southern States Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSBK) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Southern States Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSBK) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 41,500 shares, an increase of 21.7% from the December 31st total of 34,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 21,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern States Bancshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SSBK. Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Southern States Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth $1,994,000. Marietta Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern States Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth $977,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern States Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth $471,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Southern States Bancshares by 206.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 21,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 14,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Southern States Bancshares by 88.1% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 21,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $665,000 after acquiring an additional 10,135 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.73% of the company’s stock.

Southern States Bancshares Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of Southern States Bancshares stock traded down $0.54 during trading on Monday, reaching $32.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,597. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $318.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.79 and a beta of 0.33. Southern States Bancshares has a 1-year low of $22.13 and a 1-year high of $39.16. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.46.

Southern States Bancshares (NASDAQ:SSBK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter. Southern States Bancshares had a return on equity of 15.04% and a net margin of 19.68%.

Southern States Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Southern States Bancshares’s payout ratio is 9.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Hovde Group lowered 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.

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.