Is Southside Bancshares, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:SBSI) CEO Pay Justified?

Lee Gibson has been the CEO of Southside Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBSI) since 2017. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. Third, we'll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.

Check out our latest analysis for Southside Bancshares

How Does Lee Gibson's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, Southside Bancshares, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$1.1b, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth US$1.6m. (This number is for the twelve months until December 2018). While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at US$646k. We examined companies with market caps from US$400m to US$1.6b, and discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was US$2.7m.

This would give shareholders a good impression of the company, since most similar size companies have to pay more, leaving less for shareholders. While this is a good thing, you'll need to understand the business better before you can form an opinion.

The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at Southside Bancshares has changed from year to year.

Is Southside Bancshares, Inc. Growing?

Southside Bancshares, Inc. has increased its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 6.6% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 6.6% over the last year.

I'm not particularly impressed by the revenue growth, but I'm happy with the modest EPS growth. It's clear the performance has been quite decent, but it it falls short of outstanding,based on this information.

Has Southside Bancshares, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Southside Bancshares, Inc. has served shareholders reasonably well, with a total return of 20% over three years. But they probably wouldn't be so happy as to think the CEO should be paid more than is normal, for companies around this size.

In Summary...

It looks like Southside Bancshares, Inc. pays its CEO less than similar sized companies.

Lee Gibson receives relatively low remuneration compared to similar sized companies. But the company isn't exactly firing on all cylinders, from my perspective. But on this analysis I see no issue with the CEO compensation. Whatever your view on compensation, you might want to check if insiders are buying or selling Southside Bancshares shares (free trial).

Important note: Southside Bancshares may not be the best stock to buy. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.