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

Key Points

• South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from six brokerage firms, with a target price of $44.00.
• Recent insider activity includes Director Richard D. Campbell selling 15,583 shares at an average price of $39.62, reducing his ownership by 1.01%.
• South Plains Financial will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.16 on November 10th, which represents an annualized yield of 1.7%.

Shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $44.00.

Several equities research analysts have commented on SPFI shares. Piper Sandler lowered shares of South Plains Financial from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on shares of South Plains Financial from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Zacks Research lowered shares of South Plains Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $42.00 price objective (up previously from $38.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other South Plains Financial news, Director Richard D. Campbell sold 15,583 shares of South Plains Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.62, for a total value of $617,398.46. Following the sale, the director owned 1,529,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,594,273.32. The trade was a 1.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 24.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of South Plains Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $148,000. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 26.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,871 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 11.0% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.95% of the company's stock.

South Plains Financial Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:SPFI opened at $38.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $619.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 0.65. South Plains Financial has a 52 week low of $30.01 and a 52 week high of $42.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.98.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $54.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.07 million. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 12.27%. On average, equities analysts expect that South Plains Financial will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 27th will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 27th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. South Plains Financial's payout ratio is currently 20.00%.

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.

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