South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) from a "hold" to a "sell" rating in a report released Saturday.
• Despite that downgrade, analysts overall maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" with five Buys, one Hold and a consensus target price of $46.25.
• In the most recent quarter SPFI reported EPS of $0.85, missing estimates by $0.03, and the board approved a $10 million share repurchase program authorizing up to 1.5% of outstanding shares.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on SPFI. Zacks Research lowered South Plains Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Hovde Group increased their price objective on South Plains Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on South Plains Financial from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on South Plains Financial from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, South Plains Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.25.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

South Plains Financial stock opened at $41.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $42.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.37. South Plains Financial has a 52-week low of $32.79 and a 52-week high of $45.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $677.95 million, a P/E ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 0.49.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.03). South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 20.22%.The company had revenue of $54.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.08 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that South Plains Financial will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On South Plains Financial

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in South Plains Financial in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in South Plains Financial in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in South Plains Financial in the third quarter valued at about $57,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in South Plains Financial in the third quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.95% of the company's stock.

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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