South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Director Richard Campbell Sells 16,700 Shares of Stock

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Director Richard Campbell sold 16,700 shares of South Plains Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.28, for a total value of $722,776.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,307,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,595,438.24. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

South Plains Financial stock opened at $42.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.38 and a 52 week high of $46.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $806.78 million, a P/E ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $43.44 and a 200-day moving average of $42.70.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $65.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.22 million. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 12.36% and a net margin of 21.23%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. 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. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. South Plains Financial’s payout ratio is presently 20.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On South Plains Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in South Plains Financial by 71.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 1.6% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 40,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,693,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 0.9% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 76,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,201,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 2.0% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 55,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,307,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of South Plains Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SPFI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target (up from $48.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Monday, July 20th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of South Plains Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, South Plains Financial presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $49.60.

About South Plains Financial

South Plains Financial, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Lubbock, Texas, and the parent company of City Bank. Through City Bank, it provides banking and related financial services to individuals, businesses and other organizations. Its services include personal and commercial deposit accounts, lending, mortgage banking, treasury management and wealth-related services. The company serves customers primarily in Texas and New Mexico through its branch network and other banking channels.