South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $42.50 and last traded at $42.42, with a volume of 47087 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $40.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SPFI shares. Piper Sandler lowered South Plains Financial from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of South Plains Financial from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Hovde Group boosted 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, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, South Plains Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.75.

South Plains Financial Trading Up 5.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $691.35 million, a PE ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.83.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $54.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.07 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of South Plains Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SPFI. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 11.0% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in South Plains Financial by 4.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in South Plains Financial by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 10,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in South Plains Financial by 0.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 89,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,956,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in South Plains Financial by 4.4% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 10,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

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.