South Plains Financial, Inc. $SPFI Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has increased its stake in South Plains Financial by 2.4%, now holding approximately 678,579 shares valued at $22.47 million.
• South Plains Financial recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.16 per share, up from the previous $0.15, reflecting a 1.6% yield.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Buy" for South Plains Financial, with a target price revised to $42.00 from $38.00.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI - Free Report) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 678,579 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 15,942 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 4.18% of South Plains Financial worth $22,475,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,754 shares of the company's stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,013 shares of the company's stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 1,506 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 19,976 shares of the company's stock worth $694,000 after buying an additional 2,127 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,499 shares of the company's stock worth $712,000 after buying an additional 2,724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,528 shares of the company's stock worth $1,965,000 after buying an additional 3,161 shares during the last quarter. 54.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, 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 report on Thursday, July 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $44.67.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SPFI traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $40.41. The stock had a trading volume of 35,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 49,504. The stock has a market capitalization of $656.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.63. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.01 and a 52 week high of $42.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $54.67 million for 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 period last year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. On average, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 28th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 28th. This is a positive change from South Plains Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. South Plains Financial's dividend payout ratio is 20.00%.

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.