Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sells 11,942 Shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. $SPFI

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its stake in South Plains Financial by 27.4%, selling 11,942 shares, and now holds about 31,621 shares worth $1,047,000.
• South Plains Financial recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.16, up from $0.15, which reflects a 1.6% yield.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on South Plains Financial, with Zacks reducing its rating to "hold" while Raymond James set a revised price target of $42.00.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lowered its holdings in South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI - Free Report) by 27.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,621 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,942 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.19% of South Plains Financial worth $1,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in South Plains Financial by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,754 shares of the company's stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P grew its position in South Plains Financial by 1.7% in the first quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 46,997 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,557,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in South Plains Financial by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 19,976 shares of the company's stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 34,488 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,198,000 after acquiring an additional 5,476 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of South Plains Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $42.00 price objective (up previously from $38.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, South Plains Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.67.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ SPFI traded up $0.01 during trading on Monday, reaching $39.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 57,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,258. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $637.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $39.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.15.

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

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at South Plains Financial

In other news, Director Richard D. Campbell sold 44,417 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.21, for a total value of $1,786,007.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,544,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,123,203.49. The trade was a 2.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 25.39% of the company's stock.

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.