South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Receives $46.25 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.25.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their target price 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. Zacks Research downgraded South Plains Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Hovde Group increased their price target on South Plains Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen raised South Plains Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised South Plains Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SPFI opened at $39.38 on Tuesday. South Plains Financial has a one year low of $33.66 and a one year high of $45.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $754.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $41.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.51.

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

South Plains Financial Announces Dividend

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

South Plains Financial announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at South Plains Financial

In related news, Director James D. Stein sold 4,936 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.06, for a total transaction of $197,736.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 357,936 shares in the company, valued at $14,338,916.16. This represents a 1.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 24.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On South Plains Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of South Plains Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of South Plains Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of South Plains Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

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.