Southern States Bancshares, Inc. SEC Filings

Southern States Bancshares, Inc. (SSBK) – Form 4 insider activity

Chief Financial Officer Lynn J. Joyce reported the exercise of 34,867 employee stock options on 20 June 2025 under five separate option grants dating from 2018-2022. Each transaction is coded “M,” indicating an option exercise with the shares retained rather than sold. Exercise prices ranged from $14.50 to $20.61 per share.

Following the exercises, Joyce’s direct ownership of common stock rose from 44,612 to 79,479 shares, including 3,022 unvested restricted shares that vest incrementally through February 2028. All five option grants are now fully exercised, leaving zero remaining derivative securities outstanding.

The Form 4 shows no open-market sales, so the transactions represent a net increase in insider ownership. While the additional shares add modest dilution (already accounted for in fully-diluted share count), insider purchasing is commonly viewed as a signal of management confidence, particularly when shares are retained rather than sold to fund the exercise.

• Insider type: Section 16 officer (CFO).
• Total cash outlay: approximately $627 k (exercise price × shares), subject to tax-withholding method not disclosed.
• Post-transaction holding: 79,479 common shares (≈ 3.8 % of 2.1 m shares outstanding if float unchanged; actual float not disclosed).

No earnings data, corporate actions, or new compensation plans were disclosed in this filing.

Southern States Bancshares, Inc. (SSBK) – Form 4 insider activity

Chief Risk Officer Gregory B. Smith exercised a block of vested employee stock options on 20 June 2025. Five separate option grants with strike prices ranging from $16.00 to $30.23 were converted (transaction code “M”), resulting in the acquisition of 25,826 common shares. No shares were sold into the open market.

• Post-transaction direct beneficial ownership rises to 97,818 common shares, including 3,022 unvested restricted shares that continue to vest annually through 19 Feb 2028.
• The oldest grants (2019–2022) are now fully exercised; newer grants dated 2023 and 2024 retain 706 and 1,735 options outstanding, respectively, with expiration dates in 2033-2034.
• The filings show a cashless exercise price equal to the option strike; no market purchase price is disclosed, suggesting standard exercise mechanics.

The absence of open-market sales implies the executive is increasing exposure to SSBK equity rather than monetising holdings. While the share count involved (< 100 k) is modest relative to the company’s public float, insider accumulation is often interpreted as a vote of confidence in future performance. Investors should note potential marginal dilution from option conversion, though the impact is typically immaterial at this scale.

Southern States Bancshares, Inc. (SSBK) – CEO & Director Mark A. Chambers filed a Form 4 detailing option exercises on 20-Jun-2025.

• Mr. Chambers exercised 8 tranches of stock options, converting a total of 53,629 shares of common stock at strike prices ranging from $10.00 to $30.23.
• Following the transactions, his direct beneficial ownership rose to 109,685 shares, up from 71,056 reported after the first exercise line—an incremental increase of 38,629 shares. The total includes 4,670 unvested restricted shares and 637 dividend-reinvestment shares.
• All exercised options dated 2016-2022 are now fully depleted; 3,586 options granted in 2023-2024 remain outstanding.
• No open-market sales were reported. Transaction code “M” confirms these were option exercises rather than purchases on the secondary market.

Because shares were retained, the filing may signal insider confidence, but it provides no direct information on company fundamentals or upcoming events.