Quantbot Technologies LP Buys Shares of 16,010 South Plains Financial, Inc. $SPFI

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 16,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $690,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SPFI. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in South Plains Financial during the second quarter valued at $61,644,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial in the second quarter worth $2,755,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew 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 worth $16,994,000 after acquiring an additional 57,008 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the second quarter valued at $2,410,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS bought a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the second quarter valued at $1,659,000. 54.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SPFI. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of South Plains Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of South Plains Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price 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. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, South Plains Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.60.

South Plains Financial Trading Up 0.2%

South Plains Financial stock opened at $43.62 on Friday. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $35.34 and a one year high of $46.94. The business’s fifty day moving average is $43.82 and its 200 day moving average is $42.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $821.80 million, a PE ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $63.34 million. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 12.36% and a net margin of 20.79%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 27th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 27th. This is a positive change from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.62%.

Insider Activity at South Plains Financial

In related news, Director James D. Stein sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.54, for a total transaction of $4,454,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 242,872 shares in the company, valued at $10,817,518.88. This represents a 29.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard D. Campbell sold 132,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.75, for a total transaction of $5,938,951.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,412,255 shares in the company, valued at $63,198,411.25. This represents a 8.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 260,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,624,642 over the last three months. 24.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.