South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on South Plains Financial, with six buy ratings and one hold rating. The average 12-month price target is $49.60, above the reported $44.21 share price.
• South Plains Financial exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.96 in EPS versus the $0.94 estimate and revenue of $64.49 million. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.18 per share, equivalent to a 1.6% annual yield.
• Institutional ownership stands at 54.95% after major investors including BlackRock acquired new positions, while insiders sold 260,000 shares worth approximately $11.6 million over the past 90 days.

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $49.60.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SPFI. Weiss Ratings raised shares of South Plains Financial from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded South Plains Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on South Plains Financial from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up from $48.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Monday, July 20th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James D. Stein sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.54, for a total transaction of $4,454,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 242,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,817,518.88. This represents a 29.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Richard D. Campbell sold 27,286 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.14, for a total value of $1,231,690.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,384,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at $62,517,500.66. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 260,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,624,642. Corporate insiders own 24.29% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On South Plains Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SPFI. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the second quarter valued at about $61,644,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial in the second quarter worth about $13,426,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial in the second quarter worth about $3,981,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new position in South Plains Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,330,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in South Plains Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,755,000. 54.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

South Plains Financial Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of SPFI opened at $44.21 on Thursday. South Plains Financial has a fifty-two week low of $35.34 and a fifty-two week high of $46.94. The business has a 50-day moving average of $43.54 and a 200 day moving average of $42.36. The firm has a market cap of $832.92 million, a P/E ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.97.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 17th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $64.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.34 million. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 20.79% and a return on equity of 12.36%. As a group, research analysts forecast that South Plains Financial will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 27th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 27th. This is a positive change from South Plains Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. South Plains Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.62%.

South Plains Financial Company Profile

South Plains Financial, Inc is the bank holding company for South Plains Bank, a community-oriented financial institution headquartered in Lubbock, Texas. The company operates as a full-service commercial bank, providing a broad spectrum of banking solutions to individuals, small businesses and agricultural clients. Its principal subsidiary, South Plains Bank, holds state and national banking charters and is subject to regulatory oversight by the Federal Reserve and various state banking authorities.

The company’s product offerings include traditional deposit accounts such as checking, savings and money market accounts, as well as time deposits.

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