South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.17 Per Share

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.17 per share on Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. This is a 6.3% increase from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16.

South Plains Financial has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.6%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 5 consecutive years. South Plains Financial has a payout ratio of 19.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect South Plains Financial to earn $3.28 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.5%.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

Shares of SPFI opened at $42.63 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $39.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.85. The company has a market capitalization of $692.74 million, a P/E ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 0.60. South Plains Financial has a fifty-two week low of $30.01 and a fifty-two week high of $43.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $54.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.07 million. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 20.09%. Research analysts predict that South Plains Financial will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Hovde Group upped their price objective on South Plains Financial from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of South Plains Financial from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a report on Friday, October 24th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of South Plains Financial from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of South Plains Financial from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.75.

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.