South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $43.85, but opened at $41.07. South Plains Financial shares last traded at $39.90, with a volume of 14,877 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $54.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.08 million. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 19.69%.

South Plains Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 27th. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.77%.

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

South Plains Financial News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting South Plains Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management says the Bank of Houston acquisition should be ~11% accretive to earnings in 2027 with tangible book value earn-back in under three years — a clear long-term capital-accretive rationale for the deal. South Plains signals BOH deal accretive
• Positive Sentiment: Company announced completion of the BOH (BOH Holdings) acquisition, expanding South Plains’ footprint and deposit/loan mix — a strategic growth move that supports future revenue and scale opportunities. South Plains completes BOH acquisition
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presentation and earnings call covered integration plans, loan and deposit trends, and capital metrics (ROE ~12.5%, net margin ~19.7%). These materials provide detail but no major guidance shift; they help model post-acquisition performance. Earnings call presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript and coverage summarize management’s discussion of growth opportunities and challenges; useful for assessing integration execution risk but not an immediate positive/negative pivot. Earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 EPS of $0.85 missed the Street by $0.03 (consensus $0.88); revenue was roughly in line at ~$54.15M. The small EPS miss is a near-term headwind that can temper sentiment until integration benefits materialize. Q1 earnings and revenues miss
• Negative Sentiment: Market write-ups and summaries highlight that while revenue held roughly to expectations, EPS dilution from integration costs or one-time items could pressure near-term profitability until accretion is realized. Q1 metrics vs. estimates

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of South Plains Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of South Plains Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $48.00 in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of South Plains Financial from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Friday. Finally, Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of South Plains Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, South Plains Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On South Plains Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 26.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $42.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $635.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.34 and a beta of 0.54.

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.