Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Takes $255,000 Position in Southside Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBSI)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southside Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBSI) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,632 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SBSI. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Southside Bancshares by 95.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 238,087 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,574,000 after purchasing an additional 116,473 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Southside Bancshares during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,109,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Southside Bancshares by 6.8% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 603,285 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,657,000 after acquiring an additional 38,500 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in Southside Bancshares by 835.1% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 23,826 shares of the bank’s stock worth $658,000 after acquiring an additional 21,278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in Southside Bancshares by 185.9% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 24,028 shares of the bank’s stock worth $702,000 after buying an additional 15,625 shares during the last quarter. 55.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southside Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBSI opened at $35.36 on Tuesday. Southside Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $25.30 and a one year high of $38.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.89.

Southside Bancshares (NASDAQ:SBSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $113.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.25 million. Southside Bancshares had a net margin of 18.94% and a return on equity of 10.64%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Southside Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.

Southside Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Southside Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.99%.

Insider Transactions at Southside Bancshares

In other news, insider Suni M. Davis sold 2,220 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total transaction of $79,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $331,272. This trade represents a 19.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider T L. Arnold, Jr. sold 4,667 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.71, for a total transaction of $157,324.57. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,441 shares in the company, valued at $554,226.11. The trade was a 22.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,187 shares of company stock valued at $358,487 over the last three months. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on SBSI shares. Hovde Group increased their price target on Southside Bancshares from $31.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com lowered Southside Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

About Southside Bancshares

Southside Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Southside Bank that provides a range of financial services to individuals, businesses, municipal entities, and nonprofit organizations. Its deposit products include savings, money market, and interest and noninterest bearing checking accounts, as well as certificates of deposits.