South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 203,674 shares, an increase of 47.9% from the March 15th total of 137,671 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 121,795 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

SPFI traded down $0.36 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.94. The stock had a trading volume of 47,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 87,959. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $717.98 million, a P/E ratio of 12.77 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $42.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.99. South Plains Financial has a twelve month low of $31.49 and a twelve month high of $44.58.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $54.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.11 million. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 19.69% and a return on equity of 12.51%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that South Plains Financial will post 2.85 EPS 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 $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.77%.

South Plains Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 repurchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on SPFI shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Piper Sandler upgraded South Plains Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $45.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. 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 report on Tuesday, January 27th. Zacks Research cut South Plains Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on South Plains Financial from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Five equities research 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, South Plains Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On South Plains Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SPFI. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $57,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $60,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. 54.95% of the stock is 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.