South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Cut to Neutral at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler downgraded shares of South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $41.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $44.00.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Zacks Research lowered South Plains Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Hovde Group increased their target price on shares of South Plains Financial from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective (up from $38.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, South Plains Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.00.

South Plains Financial Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of SPFI stock opened at $38.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $625.24 million, a P/E ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 0.65. South Plains Financial has a 52 week low of $30.01 and a 52 week high of $42.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.11.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.09. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 13.40% and a net margin of 20.09%.The business had revenue of $54.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.07 million. Analysts predict that South Plains Financial will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 27th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 27th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.29%.

Insider Transactions at South Plains Financial

In related news, Director Richard D. Campbell sold 44,417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.21, for a total transaction of $1,786,007.57. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,544,969 shares in the company, valued at $62,123,203.49. The trade was a 2.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 25.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On South Plains Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Truist Financial Corp purchased a new stake in South Plains Financial in the second quarter valued at $212,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in South Plains Financial by 352.5% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 92,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,072,000 after purchasing an additional 72,269 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 2.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 678,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,475,000 after buying an additional 15,942 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial in the first quarter worth about $1,809,000. Finally, Bailard Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial in the first quarter worth about $616,000. 54.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.