South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Hits New 1-Year High After Dividend Announcement

Key Points

• Shares of South Plains Financial hit a new 52-week high after the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share (annualized $0.68, yield ~1.5%), payable May 11 with record/ex-dividend date April 27 and a dividend payout ratio of ~19.8%.
• Analysts are mostly bullish — five Buy and one Hold — giving an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.75, with several firms recently raising targets (Hovde to $49, Piper Sandler to $48).
• The board authorized a $10 million share buyback (~1.5% of shares), and the company recently beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.90 vs. $0.84); valuation metrics include a market cap of ~$733M and a PE ratio of 13.02.

Shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $44.72 and last traded at $44.9050, with a volume of 34780 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $43.30.The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 27th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 27th. South Plains Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SPFI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Hovde Group raised their target price on South Plains Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on South Plains Financial from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research lowered South Plains Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of South Plains Financial from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, South Plains Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.75.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $732.96 million, a PE ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 0.54. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $42.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.04.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.06. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 19.69%.The company had revenue of $54.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $54.11 million. On average, research analysts expect that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

South Plains Financial declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, February 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of South Plains Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in South Plains Financial by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,066 shares of the company's stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 0.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 89,245 shares of the company's stock worth $2,956,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 4.4% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 10,337 shares of the company's stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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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