42,015 Shares in South Plains Financial, Inc. $SPFI Purchased by Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd.

Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 42,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,624,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 380,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,725,000 after purchasing an additional 34,420 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in South Plains Financial during the second quarter worth $336,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in South Plains Financial by 5.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 292,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,552,000 after buying an additional 14,471 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in South Plains Financial during the second quarter valued at $321,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new position in South Plains Financial in the second quarter valued at $4,708,000. 54.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SPFI. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of South Plains Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on South Plains Financial from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on South Plains Financial from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Hovde Group raised their price objective on South Plains Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.75.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

SPFI opened at $40.45 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.67. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.01 and a 52-week high of $44.00. The company has a market cap of $660.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.90 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 12.51%. The business had revenue of $53.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.11 million. Equities analysts anticipate that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is an increase from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.77%.

South Plains Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About South Plains Financial

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.