South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Short Interest Down 18.8% in April

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 42,300 shares, a decline of 18.8% from the March 31st total of 52,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 28,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at South Plains Financial

In other news, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 100,000 shares of South Plains Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $2,475,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,103,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,318,975.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other South Plains Financial news, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $1,250,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,253,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,344,925. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $2,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,103,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,318,975.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 25.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of South Plains Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SPFI. Denali Advisors LLC grew its holdings in South Plains Financial by 14.9% during the third quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 5,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 12,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 3,236 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank acquired a new stake in South Plains Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $109,000. Finally, Prospector Partners LLC lifted its stake in South Plains Financial by 37.3% during the third quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 23,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 6,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SPFI shares. Hovde Group reduced their target price on shares of South Plains Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Raymond James boosted their price objective on South Plains Financial from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SPFI traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $26.65. 64,956 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 27,141. The company has a market cap of $437.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.13 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $25.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.85. South Plains Financial has a 52 week low of $18.75 and a 52 week high of $30.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $66.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.25 million. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 11.32% and a net margin of 21.23%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that South Plains Financial will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.97%.

About South Plains Financial

South Plains Financial, Inc operates as a bank holding company for City Bank that provides commercial and consumer financial services to small and medium-sized businesses and individuals. The company operates through two segments, Banking and Insurance. It offers deposit products, including demand deposit accounts, interest-bearing products, savings accounts, and certificate of deposits.