SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB – Get Free Report) and Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP – Get Free Report) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings and risk.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
89.8% of SouthState shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.3% of Popular shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.3% of SouthState shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Popular shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current ratings for SouthState and Popular, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| SouthState | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2.63 |
| Popular | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 2.78 |
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares SouthState and Popular’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| SouthState | $2.23 billion | 3.20 | $494.31 million | $6.13 | 15.27 |
| Popular | $3.90 billion | 1.81 | $541.34 million | $6.74 | 14.44 |
Popular has higher revenue and earnings than SouthState. Popular is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SouthState, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Dividends
SouthState pays an annual dividend of $2.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Popular pays an annual dividend of $2.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. SouthState pays out 35.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Popular pays out 36.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. SouthState has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years.
Volatility and Risk
SouthState has a beta of 0.67, indicating that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Popular has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares SouthState and Popular’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| SouthState | 20.84% | 9.31% | 1.13% |
| Popular | 12.20% | 11.73% | 0.83% |
Summary
Popular beats SouthState on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About SouthState
SouthState Corporation operates as the bank holding company for SouthState Bank, National Association that provides a range of banking services and products to individuals and companies. It offers checking accounts, savings deposits, interest-bearing transaction accounts, certificates of deposits, money market accounts, and other time deposits, as well as bond accounting, asset/liability consulting related activities, and other clearing and corporate checking account services. The company also offers commercial real estate loans, residential real estate loans, commercial, and industrial loans, as well as consumer loans, including auto, boat, and personal installment, as well as business, agriculture, real estate-secured (mortgage), home improvement, and manufactured housing loans. In addition, it provides debit card, mobile services, funds transfer products and services, and treasury management services comprising merchant, automated clearing house, lock-box, remote deposit capture, and other treasury services, as well as asset and wealth management, and other fiduciary and private banking services. Further, the company offers safe deposit boxes, bank money orders, wire transfer, brokerage services, and alternative investment products, including annuities, mutual funds, and trust management services; and credit cards, letters of credit, and home equity lines of credit. The company also serves its customers through online, mobile, and telephone banking platforms. The company was formerly known as First Financial Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to SouthState Corporation in July 2013. SouthState Corporation was founded in 1933 and is headquartered in Winter Haven, Florida.
About Popular
Popular, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various retail, mortgage, and commercial banking products and services in Puerto Rico, the United States, and the British Virgin Islands. The company provides savings, NOW, money market, and other interest-bearing demand accounts; non-interest bearing demand deposits; and certificates of deposit. It also offers commercial and industrial, commercial multi-family, commercial real estate, and residential mortgage loans; consumer loans, including personal loans, credit cards, automobile loans, home equity lines of credit, and other loans to individual borrowers; construction loans; and lease financing comprising automobile loans/leases. In addition, the company provides investment banking, auto and equipment leasing and financing, broker-dealer, and insurance services; debit cards; and online banking services. Popular, Inc. was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.
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