Kestrel Investment Management Corp Has $2.20 Million Holdings in Southside Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBSI)

Kestrel Investment Management Corp lessened its stake in Southside Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBSI) by 19.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 70,200 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 16,600 shares during the quarter. Kestrel Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Southside Bancshares were worth $2,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Southside Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at about $451,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Southside Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $530,000. Bill Few Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Southside Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $203,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Southside Bancshares by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,722 shares of the bank’s stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 1,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Southside Bancshares by 9.3% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 124,991 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,587,000 after acquiring an additional 10,648 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.70% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Southside Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ SBSI traded up $0.96 during trading on Friday, hitting $28.18. 97,672 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 131,054. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $853.29 million, a PE ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 0.54. Southside Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.38 and a fifty-two week high of $34.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $28.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.25.

Southside Bancshares (NASDAQ:SBSI) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $68.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.82 million. Southside Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.59% and a net margin of 21.92%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. Research analysts expect that Southside Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.86 EPS for the current year.

Southside Bancshares Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders 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 was Wednesday, February 14th. Southside Bancshares’s payout ratio is 51.25%.

Southside Bancshares Company 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.