South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFIGet Free Report) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $49.60.

SPFI has been the topic of a number of research reports. 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. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of South Plains Financial from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, July 20th. 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up from $48.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Monday, July 20th.

View Our Latest Analysis on South Plains Financial

Insider Transactions at South Plains Financial

In other news, Director James D. Stein sold 100,000 shares of South Plains Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.54, for a total value of $4,454,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 242,872 shares in the company, valued at $10,817,518.88. The trade was a 29.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard D. Campbell sold 27,286 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.14, for a total transaction of $1,231,690.04. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,384,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,517,500.66. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 260,000 shares of company stock worth $11,624,642. Insiders own 24.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On South Plains Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial in the second quarter worth $3,981,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in South Plains Financial in the second quarter valued at about $173,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in South Plains Financial in the second quarter valued at about $3,330,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in South Plains Financial in the second quarter worth about $1,099,000. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in South Plains Financial in the second quarter worth about $13,426,000. 54.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SPFI stock opened at $44.21 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $43.54 and a 200 day moving average of $42.36. South Plains Financial has a 52 week low of $35.34 and a 52 week high of $46.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $832.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFIGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.02. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 20.79% and a return on equity of 12.36%. The business had revenue of $64.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.34 million. As a group, research analysts expect that South Plains Financial will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 27th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 27th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.62%.

About South Plains Financial

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Analyst Recommendations for South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI)

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