South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is positive: Seven brokerages give South Plains Financial a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with six buys and one hold. The average 12-month price target is $49.60, above the reported $44.76 share price.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: The company reported earnings of $0.96 per share versus the $0.94 consensus estimate and revenue of $64.49 million versus expectations of $63.34 million. It also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.18 per share, representing a 1.6% yield.
• Insiders have recently sold shares: Directors sold a combined 260,000 shares worth approximately $11.6 million over the past 90 days, while insiders continue to own 24.29% of the company.

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $49.60.

Several analysts recently weighed in on SPFI shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded South Plains Financial from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price objective (up from $48.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research report on Monday, July 20th.

Insider Activity at South Plains Financial

In other news, Director Richard Campbell sold 132,714 shares of South Plains Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.75, for a total value of $5,938,951.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,412,255 shares of the company's stock, valued at $63,198,411.25. The trade was a 8.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director James Stein sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.54, for a total transaction of $4,454,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 242,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,817,518.88. The trade was a 29.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 260,000 shares of company stock worth $11,624,642. Insiders own 24.29% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SPFI. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 71.2% during 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 period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,066 shares of the company's stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.95% of the company's stock.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SPFI opened at $44.76 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $843.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 0.46. South Plains Financial has a 1-year low of $35.34 and a 1-year high of $46.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.59.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $64.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.34 million. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 20.79% and a return on equity of 12.36%. Analysts anticipate that South Plains Financial will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 27th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 27th. This is a positive change from South Plains Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. South Plains Financial's payout ratio is 19.62%.

About South Plains Financial

South Plains Financial, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Lubbock, Texas. Through its subsidiary, City Bank, the company provides banking services to businesses, agricultural customers, professionals and individual consumers.

City Bank offers commercial and consumer lending, residential mortgage loans, business and personal deposit accounts, treasury management and other financial services. Its lending activities include real estate, commercial, agricultural and consumer loans, while its deposit products include checking, savings and time-deposit accounts.

The company primarily serves communities in West Texas and parts of New Mexico through a network of banking locations and digital banking services.

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