South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Director Sells $62,509.20 in Stock

Key Points

• Director James Stein sold 1,560 shares of South Plains Financial stock on May 19 at an average price of $40.07, totaling about $62,509.20. After the sale, he still held 342,872 shares.
• South Plains Financial reported mixed quarterly results, with earnings of $0.85 per share, missing estimates by $0.03, while revenue of $54.15 million slightly beat expectations. Analysts still expect the company to earn 3.79 per share for the full year.
• The company continues shareholder returns and capital actions through a $10 million stock buyback authorization and a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share, equal to a 1.7% annualized yield. Institutional investors own about 54.95% of the stock, and analysts currently rate it a “Moderate Buy.”

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) Director James Stein sold 1,560 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total value of $62,509.20. Following the sale, the director directly owned 342,872 shares in the company, valued at $13,738,881.04. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

Shares of SPFI traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $40.09. 77,133 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 94,348. The company has a market cap of $767.56 million, a PE ratio of 11.23 and a beta of 0.48. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.66 and a 52-week high of $45.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $41.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.03). South Plains Financial had a net margin of 20.22% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The company had revenue of $54.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $54.08 million. On average, equities analysts predict that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

South Plains Financial announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

South Plains Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, April 27th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 27th. South Plains Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On South Plains Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 706,328 shares of the company's stock worth $27,300,000 after buying an additional 7,889 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 480,837 shares of the company's stock worth $18,584,000 after buying an additional 9,484 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 437,995 shares of the company's stock worth $16,994,000 after buying an additional 57,008 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 293,340 shares of the company's stock worth $11,384,000 after buying an additional 2,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 181,463 shares of the company's stock worth $7,041,000 after buying an additional 8,749 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on South Plains Financial from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings raised South Plains Financial from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research downgraded South Plains Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised South Plains Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, Hovde Group upped their price objective on South Plains Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, South Plains Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.25.

About South Plains Financial

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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