South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Receives $46.75 Consensus PT from Analysts

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) has earned an average rating of “Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.75.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SPFI shares. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on South Plains Financial from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler raised South Plains Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $45.00 to $48.00 in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Hovde Group upped 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. Zacks Research raised South Plains Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on South Plains Financial from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

Shares of SPFI stock opened at $41.27 on Monday. South Plains Financial has a 12 month low of $30.01 and a 12 month high of $44.00. The stock has a market cap of $673.98 million, a P/E ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.70.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $54.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.11 million. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 19.69% and a return on equity of 12.51%. On average, research analysts expect that South Plains Financial will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This is a positive change from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.77%.

South Plains Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, February 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 1.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 706,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,300,000 after buying an additional 7,889 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in South Plains Financial by 2.0% during 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 in 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 worth $16,994,000 after acquiring an additional 57,008 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in South Plains Financial by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 306,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,041,000 after acquiring an additional 29,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,029 shares in 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.