PDT Partners LLC Invests $274,000 in South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI)

PDT Partners LLC bought a new position in South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $274,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of South Plains Financial in the 4th quarter worth $101,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in South Plains Financial by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,556 shares of the company's stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp purchased a new position in South Plains Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in South Plains Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,013 shares of the company's stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares during the period. 54.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ SPFI traded up $0.89 during trading on Thursday, reaching $34.75. 2,028 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 38,743. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.13 and a fifty-two week high of $40.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $564.12 million, a P/E ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $32.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.01.

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

South Plains Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. South Plains Financial's payout ratio is presently 20.00%.

South Plains Financial announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 25th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SPFI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of South Plains Financial from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (down previously from $46.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their price objective on South Plains Financial from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Activity at South Plains Financial

In other news, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 5,196 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.60, for a total value of $184,977.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 828,683 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,501,114.80. This represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Noe G. Valles bought 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $33.00 per share, for a total transaction of $3,300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 486,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,052,421. This represents a 25.88 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,061 shares of company stock worth $1,493,613 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 25.39% of the company's stock.

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.