South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) has been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.75.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Hovde Group boosted their price target 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. Raymond James Financial raised 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. Piper Sandler raised South Plains Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $48.00 in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of South Plains Financial from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new position in South Plains Financial during the second quarter valued at $4,708,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in South Plains Financial by 34.5% during 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 period. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,624,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 349.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 46,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,797,000 after buying an additional 36,147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 63.3% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 76,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,968,000 after buying an additional 29,767 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

South Plains Financial Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:SPFI opened at $41.27 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $673.94 million, a P/E ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. South Plains Financial has a 12 month low of $30.01 and a 12 month high of $44.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.71.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $54.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.11 million. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 19.69%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that South Plains Financial will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were 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 was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. South Plains Financial’s payout ratio is currently 19.77%.

South Plains Financial announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.