South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Stock Breaks Below 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) shares crossed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $43.55 and traded as low as $43.25. South Plains Financial shares last traded at $43.42, with a volume of 123,361 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on SPFI. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of South Plains Financial in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up from $48.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Monday, July 20th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of South Plains Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $49.60.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $818.03 million, a PE ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $65.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.22 million. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 21.23% and a return on equity of 12.81%. On average, research analysts expect that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. This is a positive change from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On South Plains Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $61,644,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $13,426,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,981,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,346,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,755,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

South Plains Financial Company Profile

South Plains Financial, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Lubbock, Texas. Through its principal subsidiary, City Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, agricultural customers and other organizations.

City Bank offers a range of products and services, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer loans, commercial and industrial lending, agricultural loans, real estate financing, mortgage lending, wealth management and treasury management services.