Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Makes New $2.41 Million Investment in South Plains Financial, Inc. $SPFI

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 55,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,410,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPFI. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in South Plains Financial by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 706,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,300,000 after purchasing an additional 7,889 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in South Plains Financial by 2.0% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 480,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,584,000 after purchasing an additional 9,484 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 15.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 293,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in South Plains Financial by 5.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other South Plains Financial news, Director James D. Stein sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.54, for a total value of $4,454,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 242,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,817,518.88. This trade represents a 29.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Richard D. Campbell sold 27,286 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.14, for a total transaction of $1,231,690.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,384,969 shares in the company, valued at $62,517,500.66. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 275,064 shares of company stock worth $12,227,446 over the last quarter. 24.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

South Plains Financial Trading Up 0.2%

SPFI opened at $45.62 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. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.34 and a 12-month high of $46.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $43.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $859.48 million, a PE ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 0.46.

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

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 27th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 27th. This is a positive change from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. South Plains Financial’s payout ratio is currently 19.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SPFI has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on South Plains Financial from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target (up from $48.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of South Plains Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of South Plains Financial in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, South Plains Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.60.

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.