South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Director James Stein Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Director James Stein sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.38, for a total transaction of $403,800.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 362,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,652,771.36. This trade represents a 2.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SPFI opened at $39.39 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.51. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.66 and a twelve month high of $45.09. The company has a market capitalization of $754.32 million, a P/E ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 0.48.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 20.22% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The business had revenue of $54.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.08 million. As a group, research analysts expect that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, February 23rd that permits the company to buyback $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

South Plains Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 27th. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SPFI shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of South Plains Financial from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Hovde Group raised their price target on shares of South Plains Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Zacks Research cut shares of South Plains Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of South Plains Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of South Plains Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, South Plains Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.25.

Institutional Trading of South Plains Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 26.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

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.