South State (SSB) PT Lowered to $115 at Raymond James

Raymond James analyst Michael Rose lowered the price target on South State (NYSE: SSB) to $115.00 (from $120.00) while maintaining a Strong Buy rating.

The analyst commented, "We reiterate our Strong Buy rating on SSB shares following 1Q26 results that exceeded our forecast/consensus on a core EPS basis fueled by a lower loan loss provision but fell short on a core PPNR basis. More specifically, a lower core NIM/NII and slightly higher noninterest expenses vs. our forecast/consensus fueled the shortfall in core PPNR. On the call, management guided to loan growth toward the upper-end of its prior mid-to-high single-digit loan growth with end-ofyear earning assets in the $63-64 billion range although reduced its NIM outlook from 3.80-3.90% to 3.75-3.80%. While this has a larger impact on current year forecast, it has less of an impact on our 2027 EPS estimate which, combined with higher fee income and essentially no change to our noninterest expense forecasts vs. our prior model, falls by a modest 1% (detailed below). While execution remains key to achieve higher levels of growth (supported by robust pipelines and ongoing hiring efforts), we continue to view risk-reward positively where solid/above-peer profitability, robust capital levels, and relatively pristine credit metrics warrant a P/E premium vs. peers, in our view vs. its current 0.5x discount."

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