South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Director Sells $62,509.20 in Stock

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Director James Stein sold 1,560 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total transaction of $62,509.20. Following the sale, the director owned 342,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,738,881.04. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

South Plains Financial stock opened at $40.52 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $775.96 million, a PE ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 0.48. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.66 and a 52-week high of $45.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company’s 50 day moving average is $41.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.64.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $54.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.08 million. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 20.22%. On average, research analysts expect that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 27th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 27th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 19.05%.

South Plains Financial announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, February 23rd that allows the company to buyback $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of South Plains Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of South Plains Financial from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. 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, January 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of South Plains Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of South Plains Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On South Plains Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 89,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,956,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of South Plains Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $315,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 20,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $743,000 after buying an additional 2,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of South Plains Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $106,000. 54.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.