South Plains Financial, Inc. $SPFI Shares Sold by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. reduced its stake in South Plains Financial by 31.7%, owning 35,534 shares valued at approximately $1,177,000 as of the latest quarter.
• Raymond James Financial raised its price objective on South Plains Financial from $38.00 to $42.00, while the stock has a consensus price target of $44.67 among analysts.
• South Plains Financial recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.15 to $0.16, reflecting a yield of 1.6% and a dividend payout ratio of 20%.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. reduced its stake in South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI - Free Report) by 31.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,534 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,523 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of South Plains Financial worth $1,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SPFI. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in South Plains Financial by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,754 shares of the company's stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its stake 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 buying an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in South Plains Financial by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 34,488 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,198,000 after buying an additional 5,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in South Plains Financial by 7.2% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 83,196 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,755,000 after buying an additional 5,617 shares in the last quarter. 54.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut South Plains Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $42.00 price target (up from $38.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.67.

Insider Activity at South Plains Financial

In other news, Director Richard D. Campbell sold 15,583 shares of South Plains Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.62, for a total transaction of $617,398.46. Following the sale, the director owned 1,529,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,594,273.32. The trade was a 1.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 24.58% of the company's stock.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SPFI traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.59. 41,769 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 41,857. The business's 50-day moving average price is $39.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.93. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.01 and a twelve month high of $42.38. The company has a market capitalization of $642.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37 and a beta of 0.72.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.09. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 18.59%.The business had revenue of $54.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $52.24 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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 dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from South Plains Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 28th. South Plains Financial's payout ratio is presently 20.00%.

South Plains Financial Company 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.