Nuveen Asset Management LLC Has $2.27 Million Position in South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI - Free Report) by 51.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 65,204 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 22,010 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.40% of South Plains Financial worth $2,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 53,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,810,000 after buying an additional 12,200 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in South Plains Financial by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,556 shares of the company's stock valued at $193,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in South Plains Financial by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 19,036 shares of the company's stock worth $661,000 after purchasing an additional 1,512 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp bought a new position in South Plains Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in South Plains Financial by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,340 shares of the company's stock worth $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 991 shares during the period. 54.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Raymond James dropped their price objective on South Plains Financial from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Noe G. Valles bought 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $33.00 per share, with a total value of $3,300,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 486,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,052,421. This represents a 25.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 24.58% of the company's stock.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ SPFI traded up $0.97 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $36.27. 35,926 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 37,719. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $33.79 and a 200-day moving average of $34.91. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $25.13 and a one year high of $40.91. The stock has a market cap of $588.59 million, a PE ratio of 12.42 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $49.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.93 million. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 11.75% and a net margin of 17.20%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 28th. South Plains Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.00%.

South Plains Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 25th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

South Plains Financial Profile

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.