Kestrel Investment Management Corp Sells 16,600 Shares of Southside Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBSI)

Kestrel Investment Management Corp trimmed its holdings in Southside Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBSI) by 19.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,200 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 16,600 shares during the period. Kestrel Investment Management Corp owned 0.23% of Southside Bancshares worth $2,199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Southside Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth approximately $451,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southside Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth $530,000. Bill Few Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southside Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth $203,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southside Bancshares by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,722 shares of the bank’s stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 1,115 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southside Bancshares by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 124,991 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,587,000 after buying an additional 10,648 shares during the period. 55.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Southside Bancshares

In related news, Director Herbert C. Buie bought 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $32.52 per share, for a total transaction of $64,714.80. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 407,501 shares in the company, valued at $13,251,932.52. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Lee R. Gibson sold 14,897 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.27, for a total value of $450,932.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 56,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,709,982.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Herbert C. Buie acquired 1,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $32.52 per share, with a total value of $64,714.80. Following the purchase, the director now owns 407,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,251,932.52. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Southside Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBSI traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $28.18. 97,672 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 131,054. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company’s 50 day moving average is $28.48 and its 200 day moving average is $29.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $853.29 million, a P/E ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 0.54. Southside Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $25.38 and a one year high of $34.40.

Southside Bancshares (NASDAQ:SBSI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $68.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.82 million. Southside Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.59% and a net margin of 21.92%. Southside Bancshares’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Southside Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.86 EPS for the current year.

Southside Bancshares Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. Southside Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 51.25%.

Southside Bancshares Profile

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.