Insider Selling: South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Director Sells $722,776.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Director Richard Campbell sold 16,700 South Plains Financial shares for $722,776 at an average price of $43.28, reducing his stake by 1.26% to 1,307,658 shares.
• The company beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.06 per share versus the $0.99 consensus, and raised its quarterly dividend from $0.18 to $0.19.
• Analysts maintain a consensus Buy rating with an average $49.60 price target; SPFI recently traded at $42.80.

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) Director Richard Campbell sold 16,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.28, for a total value of $722,776.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,307,658 shares in the company, valued at $56,595,438.24. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

SPFI traded down $0.24 on Thursday, reaching $42.80. The stock had a trading volume of 57,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,010. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.38 and a fifty-two week high of $46.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $43.44 and a 200-day moving average of $42.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $806.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.47.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.07. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 12.36% and a net margin of 21.23%. The firm had revenue of $65.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.22 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be paid a $0.19 dividend. This is an increase from South Plains Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. South Plains Financial's payout ratio is currently 20.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SPFI. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Monday, July 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price (up from $48.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Monday, July 20th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of South Plains Financial in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of South Plains Financial from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $49.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SPFI. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial in the second quarter valued at about $61,644,000. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS bought a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the second quarter worth about $1,659,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the second quarter worth about $1,099,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in shares of South Plains Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $2,410,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of South Plains Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $2,755,000. 54.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About South Plains Financial

South Plains Financial, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Lubbock, Texas, and the parent company of City Bank. Through City Bank, it provides banking and related financial services to individuals, businesses and other organizations. Its services include personal and commercial deposit accounts, lending, mortgage banking, treasury management and wealth-related services. The company serves customers primarily in Texas and New Mexico through its branch network and other banking channels.

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