South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Upgraded by Benchmark to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Benchmark upgraded shares of South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler cut their target price on South Plains Financial from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised South Plains Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered South Plains Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of South Plains Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.60.

South Plains Financial Trading Up 1.6%

NASDAQ SPFI opened at $42.85 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $41.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.26. South Plains Financial has a 12 month low of $35.20 and a 12 month 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 company has a market capitalization of $820.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 0.47.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $54.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.08 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that South Plains Financial will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 27th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 27th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other South Plains Financial news, Director James D. Stein sold 1,560 shares of South Plains Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total value of $62,509.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 342,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,738,881.04. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,000 shares of company stock worth $1,204,340. 24.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On South Plains Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 706,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,300,000 after purchasing an additional 7,889 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in South Plains Financial by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 480,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,584,000 after buying an additional 9,484 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in South Plains Financial by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 437,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,994,000 after buying an additional 57,008 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in South Plains Financial by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 293,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,384,000 after buying an additional 2,029 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in South Plains Financial by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 181,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,041,000 after buying an additional 8,749 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.