Short Interest in South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Decreases By 42.9%

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) saw a significant decrease in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 79,534 shares, a decrease of 42.9% from the January 15th total of 139,222 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 74,920 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 74,920 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SPFI shares. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Hovde Group upped their target price on South Plains Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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 note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of South Plains Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $46.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On South Plains Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 4.6% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in South Plains Financial by 0.4% in 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. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in South Plains Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $315,000. Truist Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 44.8% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

South Plains Financial Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of South Plains Financial stock opened at $42.17 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.20. The company has a market cap of $685.26 million, a P/E ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. South Plains Financial has a 1 year low of $30.01 and a 1 year high of $44.00.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $53.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.11 million. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 19.69%. As a group, analysts expect that South Plains Financial will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.77%.

About South Plains Financial

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.