South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Shares Cross Below 200-Day Moving Average After Insider Selling

Key Points

• Shares slipped below their 200-day moving average: South Plains Financial traded as low as $42.26 and last changed hands at $42.65, versus a 200-day average of $42.71.
• Director Richard Campbell sold a combined 24,754 shares in two transactions at an average of $43.28 per share, reducing his ownership by 1.26% and 0.60% in the respective trades.
• Analysts have a consensus “Buy” rating and a $49.60 price target. The company beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.06 versus $0.99) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.19 per share from $0.18.

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $42.71 and traded as low as $42.26. South Plains Financial shares last traded at $42.65, with a volume of 70,917 shares changing hands.

Specifically, Director Richard Campbell sold 16,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.28, for a total transaction of $722,776.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,307,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,595,438.24. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard Campbell sold 8,054 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.28, for a total value of $348,577.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,324,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,318,214.24. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

South Plains Financial Stock Down 0.4%

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $803.95 million, a PE ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $65.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.22 million. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 21.23% and a return on equity of 12.36%. Analysts forecast that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 4.8% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 96,789 shares of the company's stock worth $4,039,000 after acquiring an additional 4,392 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in South Plains Financial by 30.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 71,193 shares of the company's stock worth $2,971,000 after buying an additional 16,787 shares during the last quarter. TIAA CREF Individual & Institutional Services LLC purchased a new stake in South Plains Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $201,000. Boston Partners increased its stake in South Plains Financial by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 146,359 shares of the company's stock worth $6,108,000 after buying an additional 19,958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.95% of the company's stock.

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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