South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.17 Per Share

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.17 per share on Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. This is a 6.3% increase from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16.

South Plains Financial has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.6%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 5 consecutive years. South Plains Financial has a payout ratio of 19.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect South Plains Financial to earn $3.28 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.5%.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ SPFI opened at $42.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. South Plains Financial has a 12-month low of $30.01 and a 12-month high of $43.25. The firm has a market cap of $692.77 million, a P/E ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s 50 day moving average is $39.32 and its 200-day moving average is $38.85.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.09. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 20.09% and a return on equity of 13.16%. The firm had revenue of $54.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.07 million. Sell-side analysts predict that South Plains Financial will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SPFI has been the subject of several research reports. Hovde Group upped their target price on South Plains Financial from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Piper Sandler cut South Plains Financial from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of South Plains Financial from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.75.

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.