Insider Selling: South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Director Sells 44,417 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Richard Campbell, a director at South Plains Financial, sold 44,417 shares on September 11th for a total of approximately $1.79 million, reducing his ownership by 2.79%.
• South Plains Financial's stock recently traded at $40.33, reflecting a 1.3% increase in value, and the company has a market cap of $654.96 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.16 per share, marking a rise from the previous $0.15 dividend, with a current payout ratio of 20%.

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) Director Richard D. Campbell sold 44,417 shares of South Plains Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.21, for a total transaction of $1,786,007.57. Following the sale, the director owned 1,544,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $62,123,203.49. This trade represents a 2.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

South Plains Financial Trading Down 3.5%

South Plains Financial stock traded down $1.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $39.22. The company had a trading volume of 160,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 42,627. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.01 and a 12-month high of $42.38. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $39.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $636.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.94.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.09. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The firm had revenue of $54.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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. Investors of record on Monday, July 28th were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 28th. This is a positive change from South Plains Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. South Plains Financial's payout ratio is presently 20.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SPFI has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $42.00 price objective (up from $38.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of South Plains Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, South Plains Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the second quarter worth $32,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 44.8% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 11.0% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,594 shares of the company's stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the second quarter worth $106,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in South Plains Financial by 595.6% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,353 shares of the company's stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 2,871 shares in the last quarter. 54.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.