South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Short Interest Update

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 79,534 shares, a decline of 42.9% from the January 15th total of 139,222 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 74,920 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 74,920 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on SPFI. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on South Plains Financial from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on South Plains Financial from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Hovde Group raised their target price on South Plains Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of South Plains Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Truist Financial Corp bought a new stake in South Plains Financial in the second quarter worth about $212,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $336,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 34.5% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 346,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,490,000 after purchasing an additional 88,992 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 292,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,552,000 after purchasing an additional 14,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $321,000. 54.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

South Plains Financial Stock Down 0.5%

SPFI opened at $42.17 on Friday. South Plains Financial has a 12 month low of $30.01 and a 12 month high of $44.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $685.26 million, a P/E ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.20.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $53.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.11 million. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 19.69%. As a group, research analysts predict that South Plains Financial will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

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

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.