South Plains Financial, Inc. $SPFI Shares Bought by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in South Plains Financial by 11.5%, acquiring an additional 28,467 shares to reach a total of 276,923 shares worth approximately $9.17 million.
• Analysts have a positive outlook on South Plains Financial, with Raymond James restating an "outperform" rating and raising the price target to $42.00, while the average target price stands at $44.67.
• South Plains Financial recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.16 per share from the previous $0.15, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.6%.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI - Free Report) by 11.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 276,923 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 28,467 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 1.71% of South Plains Financial worth $9,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SPFI. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 7.2% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 83,196 shares of the company's stock worth $2,755,000 after buying an additional 5,617 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in South Plains Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $1,809,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in South Plains Financial by 352.5% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 92,768 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,072,000 after acquiring an additional 72,269 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 678,579 shares of the company's stock worth $22,475,000 after purchasing an additional 15,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial in the 1st quarter worth $616,000. Institutional investors own 54.95% of the company's stock.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SPFI traded up $0.02 during trading on Monday, reaching $40.63. 27,794 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 52,962. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $38.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.56. The stock has a market cap of $659.83 million, a P/E ratio of 12.70 and a beta of 0.72. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.01 and a 12-month high of $42.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $54.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.24 million. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 18.59%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, July 28th were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 28th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from South Plains Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. South Plains Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $42.00 target price (up previously from $38.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, South Plains Financial has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.67.

About South Plains Financial

South Plains Financial, Inc operates as a bank holding company for City Bank that provides commercial and consumer financial services to small and medium-sized businesses and individuals. The company operates through two segments, Banking and Insurance. It offers deposit products, including demand deposit accounts, interest-bearing products, savings accounts, and certificate of deposits.