BUZZ-Citi upgrades South State to 'buy' on margin expansion
** Citi Research upgrades regional U.S. bank South State SSB.N to "buy" from "neutral", raises PT to $128 from $106
** Brokerage notes that the closure of the Independent Bank Group deal and net interest margin expansion as key factors driving profitability
** SSB had agreed to acquire Texas-based Independent Bank Group in an all-stock $2 billion deal in May
** The biggest driver to our 2025/26 outlook was the combination of a stronger than expected NIM backdrop from 4Q24 (both loan and deposit pricing), coupled with a likely securities repositioning - brokerage
** The new price target represents a 23.5% upside to the stock's last close
** 6 of 9 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, and 3 "hold"; their median PT is $125 - LSEG data
** In 2024, the stock rose 17.8%
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