South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Short Interest Up 105.7% in January

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 139,222 shares, an increase of 105.7% from the December 31st total of 67,689 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 74,817 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 74,817 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On South Plains Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in South Plains Financial by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in South Plains Financial by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 3.2% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 10,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 0.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 89,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,956,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 4.4% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 10,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the period. 54.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SPFI opened at $41.66 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $676.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.60. South Plains Financial has a fifty-two week low of $30.01 and a fifty-two week high of $43.90. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.06. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 19.69% and a return on equity of 12.75%. The business had revenue of $53.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.11 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that South Plains Financial will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This is an increase from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. South Plains Financial’s payout ratio is presently 19.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SPFI. Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of South Plains Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Zacks Research upgraded South Plains Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on South Plains Financial from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, South Plains Financial has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $46.00.

South Plains Financial Company Profile

South Plains Financial, Inc is the bank holding company for South Plains Bank, a community-oriented financial institution headquartered in Lubbock, Texas. The company operates as a full-service commercial bank, providing a broad spectrum of banking solutions to individuals, small businesses and agricultural clients. Its principal subsidiary, South Plains Bank, holds state and national banking charters and is subject to regulatory oversight by the Federal Reserve and various state banking authorities.

The company’s product offerings include traditional deposit accounts such as checking, savings and money market accounts, as well as time deposits.