South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $49.60.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SPFI shares. 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 research report on Monday, July 20th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of South Plains Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of South Plains Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling at South Plains Financial

In other news, Director James D. Stein sold 1,560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 342,872 shares in the company, valued at $13,738,881.04. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 30,000 shares of company stock worth $1,204,340 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 24.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of South Plains Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in South Plains Financial by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 71.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 642 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 0.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 89,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,956,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 4.4% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 10,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. 54.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

Shares of SPFI stock opened at $44.63 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $41.95 and its 200-day moving average is $41.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $854.66 million, a PE ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 0.46. South Plains Financial has a 52 week low of $35.34 and a 52 week high of $46.94.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $64.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.34 million. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 13.23% and a net margin of 20.79%. Equities research analysts expect that South Plains Financial will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 27th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This is an increase from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 27th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. South Plains Financial’s payout ratio is 18.53%.

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.