South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Receives Consensus Rating of "Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts have given South Plains Financial a consensus “Buy” rating (five buys and one strong buy) with an average 1‑year price target of $46.75, and several firms recently raised their targets into the mid‑$40s.
• Most recent quarter showed an EPS beat of $0.90 vs. $0.84 expected, with a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 19.69%; analysts project about 2.85 EPS for the fiscal year.
• The board authorized a $10.00 million share repurchase (roughly 1.5% of shares) and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.17 ($0.68 annually, ~1.7% yield).

Shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.75.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SPFI shares. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on South Plains Financial from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Hovde Group upped their target price on shares of South Plains Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of South Plains Financial from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of South Plains Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, December 22nd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in South Plains Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the third quarter worth about $57,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 26.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the company's stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the period. 54.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

South Plains Financial Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of SPFI opened at $40.96 on Monday. South Plains Financial has a 52-week low of $30.01 and a 52-week high of $44.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm's fifty day moving average is $41.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.67. The stock has a market cap of $668.88 million, a PE ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 0.60.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $53.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.11 million. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 19.69%. Research analysts forecast that South Plains Financial will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, February 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from South Plains Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. South Plains Financial's payout ratio is currently 19.77%.

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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