JPMorgan Chase & Co. Buys 34,420 Shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. $SPFI

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase increased its stake in South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) by 9.9%, buying 34,420 shares to hold 380,987 shares (2.34%) valued at $14.725 million.
• Wall Street analysts have upgraded SPFI repeatedly—consensus rating is "Buy" with a consensus target price of $46.75 after several firms raised ratings and price targets.
• South Plains beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.90 vs. $0.84), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.17 (annualized $0.68, ~1.6% yield), and its board authorized a $10 million share repurchase program (about 1.5% of shares outstanding).

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI - Free Report) by 9.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 380,987 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,420 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 2.34% of South Plains Financial worth $14,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial during the third quarter valued at about $361,000. Polymer Capital Management US LLC lifted its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 24.4% in the third quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC now owns 7,356 shares of the company's stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 1,445 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of South Plains Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Mariner LLC boosted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 4.4% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 10,337 shares of the company's stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in South Plains Financial by 88.7% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,174 shares of the company's stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 5,723 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SPFI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of South Plains Financial from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of South Plains Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Hovde Group upped their price target on shares of South Plains Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded South Plains Financial from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.75.

South Plains Financial Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ SPFI opened at $41.87 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.66 and a 200-day moving average of $39.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $683.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 0.60. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.01 and a 12 month high of $44.00.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.06. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 19.69% and a return on equity of 12.51%. The business had revenue of $54.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.11 million. Sell-side analysts expect that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is an increase from South Plains Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. South Plains Financial's dividend payout ratio is 19.77%.

South Plains Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, February 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

About South Plains Financial

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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