South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) to Buyback $10.00 million in Outstanding Shares

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, February 23rd, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SPFI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Hovde Group increased their price target on South Plains Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of South Plains Financial from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of South Plains Financial from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of South Plains Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, South Plains Financial presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.00.

South Plains Financial Stock Down 2.0%

NASDAQ SPFI traded down $0.86 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $41.60. 109,405 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 68,974. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. South Plains Financial has a 1-year low of $30.01 and a 1-year high of $44.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.47. The company has a market cap of $676 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09 and a beta of 0.60.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $53.88 million during 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 12.75%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that South Plains Financial will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.77%.

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.