Insider Selling: South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) CEO Sells $49,569.00 in Stock

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 1,599 shares of South Plains Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total transaction of $49,569.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 996,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,903,838. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

South Plains Financial Trading Up 1.2 %

SPFI stock opened at $30.63 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $28.49 and its 200 day moving average is $27.13. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.75 and a 12-month high of $33.85. The stock has a market cap of $502.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.19 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.10. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 16.53%. The firm had revenue of $71.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $46.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 12th. Investors of record on Monday, July 29th will be given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 29th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. South Plains Financial’s payout ratio is 14.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On South Plains Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Salzhauer Michael purchased a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $268,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 12,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 3,236 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 63,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,713,000 after acquiring an additional 4,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 95,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,547,000 after purchasing an additional 7,175 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Hovde Group raised their price target on shares of South Plains Financial from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on South Plains Financial from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

South Plains Financial Company Profile

South Plains Financial, Inc operates as a bank holding company for City Bank that provides commercial and consumer financial services to small and medium-sized businesses and individuals. The company operates through two segments, Banking and Insurance. It offers deposit products, including demand deposit accounts, interest-bearing products, savings accounts, and certificate of deposits.