James Stein Sells 10,000 Shares of South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Stock

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Director James Stein sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.38, for a total transaction of $403,800.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 362,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,652,771.36. The trade was a 2.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ SPFI opened at $38.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $746.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.94 and a 200-day moving average of $40.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.66 and a 1-year high of $45.09.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $54.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.08 million. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 20.22%. On average, equities analysts forecast that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

South Plains Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 27th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 27th. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 19.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SPFI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of South Plains Financial from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of South Plains Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Hovde Group increased their price target on shares of South Plains Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of South Plains Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of South Plains Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, South Plains Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.25.

Institutional Trading of South Plains Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in South Plains Financial by 91.0% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 45,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,916,000 after acquiring an additional 21,786 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in South Plains Financial by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 55,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the first quarter worth $1,451,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 91,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,560,000 after purchasing an additional 8,749 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 181,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,041,000 after purchasing an additional 8,749 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.