92,397 Shares in South Plains Financial, Inc. $SPFI Purchased by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC purchased 92,397 shares of South Plains Financial in the second quarter, worth approximately $3.98 million and representing about 0.49% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 54.95% of SPFI.
• South Plains Financial reported quarterly EPS of $0.96, exceeding analysts’ $0.94 estimate, while revenue of $64.49 million also topped expectations. The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.18 per share, or $0.72 annually.
• Insiders sold 260,000 shares worth approximately $11.6 million in the last quarter, while analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook: six rate the stock Buy and one Hold, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $49.60 price target.

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 92,397 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,981,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.49% of South Plains Financial as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SPFI. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $61,644,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in South Plains Financial by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 706,328 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,300,000 after purchasing an additional 7,889 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in South Plains Financial by 2.0% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 480,837 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,584,000 after purchasing an additional 9,484 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in South Plains Financial by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 437,995 shares of the company's stock worth $16,994,000 after purchasing an additional 57,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in South Plains Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $13,426,000. Institutional investors own 54.95% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at South Plains Financial

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

South Plains Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SPFI opened at $43.60 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $821.42 million, a PE ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 0.46. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $43.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.42. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.34 and a twelve month high of $46.94.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.02. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 20.79% and a return on equity of 12.36%. The company had revenue of $64.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.34 million. Equities research analysts expect that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 27th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 27th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from South Plains Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. South Plains Financial's dividend payout ratio is 19.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SPFI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of South Plains Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded South Plains Financial from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Monday, July 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.60.

South Plains Financial Company Profile

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.

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