Corient Private Wealth LP Invests $3.33 Million in South Plains Financial, Inc. $SPFI

Key Points

• Corient Private Wealth LP acquired 77,278 shares of South Plains Financial in the second quarter, worth approximately $3.33 million and representing a 0.41% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 54.95% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with six Buy ratings and one Hold rating producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” recommendation and an average price target of $49.60, compared with the stock’s $43.71 opening price.
• South Plains Financial beat quarterly estimates with $0.96 EPS and $64.49 million in revenue, while raising its quarterly dividend to $0.18. However, insiders sold 260,000 shares worth about $11.6 million over the past three months.

Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in shares of 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 acquired 77,278 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,330,000. Corient Private Wealth LP owned 0.41% of South Plains Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $60,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $103,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in South Plains Financial by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,594 shares of the company's stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. 54.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SPFI. Wall Street Zen upgraded South Plains Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded South Plains Financial from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up from $48.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard D. Campbell sold 27,286 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.14, for a total transaction of $1,231,690.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,384,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $62,517,500.66. This trade represents a 1.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James D. Stein sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.54, for a total value of $4,454,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 260,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,624,642. 24.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SPFI opened at $43.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $823.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $43.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.43. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.34 and a fifty-two week high of $46.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.97.

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

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 27th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This is a boost from South Plains Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 27th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. South Plains Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.62%.

South Plains Financial 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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