Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS Invests $1.66 Million in South Plains Financial, Inc. $SPFI

Key Points

• Legacy Wealth Management purchased 38,500 shares of South Plains Financial worth approximately $1.66 million, while institutional investors collectively own 54.95% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with six Buy ratings and one Hold rating, an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus, and an average price target of $49.60.
• South Plains Financial exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.18 per share, implying a 1.6% annualized yield.

Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS purchased a new stake in South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 38,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,659,000. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS owned 0.20% of South Plains Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SPFI. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in South Plains Financial by 11.0% during 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in South Plains Financial by 71.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 642 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in South Plains Financial by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,066 shares of the company's stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.95% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard D. Campbell sold 27,286 shares of the company'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 sale, the director owned 1,384,969 shares in the company, valued at $62,517,500.66. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director James D. Stein sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.54, for a total transaction of $4,454,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 242,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,817,518.88. This represents a 29.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 280,000 shares of company stock worth $12,425,182. Company insiders own 24.29% of the company's stock.

South Plains Financial Trading Down 0.9%

South Plains Financial stock opened at $44.65 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.86 and a 200-day moving average of $42.13. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $35.34 and a one year high of $46.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $854.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 0.46.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) last released its 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. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 13.23% and a net margin of 20.79%.The business had revenue of $64.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.34 million. On average, equities 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 27th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a positive change from South Plains Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 27th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. South Plains Financial's payout ratio is presently 19.62%.

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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