Short Interest in Southern States Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSBK) Declines By 19.7%

Southern States Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSBK) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 38,400 shares, a decline of 19.7% from the March 31st total of 47,800 shares. Approximately 0.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 30,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Southern States Bancshares Stock Up 3.4 %

SSBK opened at $35.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Southern States Bancshares has a one year low of $24.86 and a one year high of $39.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $347.50 million, a P/E ratio of 9.54 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $32.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.41.

Southern States Bancshares (NASDAQ:SSBK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.05. Southern States Bancshares had a return on equity of 15.04% and a net margin of 19.68%. The firm had revenue of $26.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.80 million.

Southern States Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. Southern States Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Southern States Bancshares from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern States Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern States Bancshares during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in shares of Southern States Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Southern States Bancshares by 235.3% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern States Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at $115,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in Southern States Bancshares by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 4,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.73% of the company’s stock.

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.