South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Stock Rated "Buy" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts are broadly bullish on South Plains Financial, with five buy ratings, one strong buy and one hold among seven firms. The average 12-month price target is $49.60, implying potential upside from the $44.36 opening price.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.06 EPS versus the $0.99 consensus and $65.27 million in revenue. It also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.19, or $0.76 annually, yielding about 1.7%.
• Institutional ownership stands at 54.95%, with major investors including BlackRock and Basswood Capital establishing new positions during the second quarter.

Shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $49.60.

Several research analysts have commented on SPFI shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of South Plains Financial from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, 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 research note on Monday, July 20th.

South Plains Financial Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of SPFI stock opened at $44.36 on Tuesday. South Plains Financial has a 1 year low of $35.70 and a 1 year high of $46.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $43.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.62. The company has a market cap of $835.74 million, a PE ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 0.49.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $65.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $65.22 million. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 21.23%. Research analysts predict that South Plains Financial will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. This is an increase from South Plains Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. South Plains Financial's payout ratio is 19.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SPFI. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in South Plains Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $61,644,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in South Plains Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $13,426,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in South Plains Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,981,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in South Plains Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,346,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.95% of the company's stock.

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.

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