Insider Selling: South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Director Sells $540,295.04 in Stock

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Director James Stein sold 13,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.01, for a total transaction of $540,295.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 344,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,780,724.32. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

SPFI stock opened at $40.52 on Friday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $41.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.64. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.66 and a fifty-two week high of $45.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $775.96 million, a PE ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 0.48.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.03). South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 20.22%.The company had revenue of $54.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.08 million. Analysts forecast that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

South Plains Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, February 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

South Plains Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, April 27th were given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 27th. South Plains Financial’s payout ratio is 19.05%.

Institutional Trading of South Plains Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SPFI. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in South Plains Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in 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 in the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of South Plains Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on SPFI. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of South Plains Financial from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of South Plains Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of South Plains Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Zacks Research lowered shares of South Plains Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of South Plains Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.25.

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.