South Plains Financial, Inc. (SPFI) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.19 on November 16th

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share on Monday, November 16th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. This is a 5.6% increase from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18.

South Plains Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 0.3% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 5 consecutive years. South Plains Financial has a payout ratio of 21.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect South Plains Financial to earn $4.16 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.3%.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SPFI opened at $43.02 on Friday. South Plains Financial has a fifty-two week low of $35.34 and a fifty-two week high of $46.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.94. The company has a market capitalization of $810.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.65 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.97.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.07. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 21.23% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The firm had revenue of $65.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.22 million. Analysts expect that South Plains Financial will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James D. Stein sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.54, for a total transaction of $4,454,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 242,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,817,518.88. This trade represents a 29.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard D. Campbell sold 27,286 shares of South Plains Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.14, for a total transaction of $1,231,690.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,384,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,517,500.66. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 260,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,624,642 over the last quarter. 24.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On South Plains Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial during the second quarter worth about $204,000. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in South Plains Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $562,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in South Plains Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $421,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new position in South Plains Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,346,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in South Plains Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $481,000. 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.