South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Stock Has Average Price Target of $49.60 According to Analysts

Shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) have received an average rating of “Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $49.60.

SPFI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up from $48.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of South Plains Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of South Plains Financial in a research report on Monday, July 20th.

Insider Activity at South Plains Financial

In related news, Director Richard Campbell sold 17,809 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total value of $784,664.54. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,332,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,706,072.72. This trade represents a 1.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,557 shares of company stock valued at $2,306,544. Corporate insiders own 24.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of South Plains Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $61,644,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in South Plains Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,426,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in South Plains Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,981,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new stake in South Plains Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,346,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in South Plains Financial by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 76,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,201,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

South Plains Financial Stock Up 1.5%

SPFI stock opened at $43.08 on Tuesday. South Plains Financial has a fifty-two week low of $36.38 and a fifty-two week high of $46.94. The business’s 50-day moving average is $43.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $812.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.65 and a beta of 0.47.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $65.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.22 million. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 12.36% and a net margin of 21.23%. As a group, analysts forecast that South Plains Financial will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. This is a positive change from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. South Plains Financial’s payout ratio is presently 20.16%.

About South Plains Financial

South Plains Financial, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Lubbock, Texas. Through its principal subsidiary, City Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, agricultural customers and other organizations.

City Bank offers a range of products and services, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer loans, commercial and industrial lending, agricultural loans, real estate financing, mortgage lending, wealth management and treasury management services.