Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Purchases New Holdings in South Plains Financial, Inc. $SPFI

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 34,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,451,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd owned about 0.21% of South Plains Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 0.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 89,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,956,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial during the first quarter valued at $315,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 14.0% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 20,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $743,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in South Plains Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $106,000. Institutional investors own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

South Plains Financial Stock Up 0.8%

SPFI traded up $0.32 on Friday, hitting $42.46. The company had a trading volume of 119,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 188,103. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.44. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.34 and a 12-month high of $45.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $813.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.46.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.85 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $54.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.08 million. Analysts predict that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 27th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 27th. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James D. Stein sold 1,560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total transaction of $62,509.20. Following the sale, the director owned 342,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,738,881.04. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 30,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,204,340 over the last three months. 24.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of South Plains Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Benchmark initiated coverage on South Plains Financial in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $53.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on South Plains Financial from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research lowered South Plains Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of South Plains Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, South Plains Financial has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.60.

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.