South Plains Financial's (SPFI) "Buy (B-)" Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• South Plains Financial (SPFI) received a reiterated "Buy (B-)" rating from Weiss Ratings in a recent research note, indicating strong confidence in the stock's potential performance.
• Raymond James upgraded its price target for SPFI from $38.00 to $42.00, while Zacks Research downgraded its rating from "strong-buy" to "hold," highlighting mixed analyst sentiments.
• The company's stock achieved a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.86, surpassing expectations and reflecting a solid financial performance in comparison to the previous year's EPS of $0.66.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b-)" rating restated by Weiss Ratings in a research note issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $42.00 price objective (up from $38.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Zacks Research lowered South Plains Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.67.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

SPFI stock opened at $38.46 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. South Plains Financial has a 52-week low of $30.01 and a 52-week high of $42.38. The stock's 50 day moving average is $39.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.60. The company has a market capitalization of $624.59 million, a PE ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 0.65.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.09. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 18.59%.The company had revenue of $54.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. Analysts predict that South Plains Financial will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at South Plains Financial

In other news, Director Richard D. Campbell sold 15,583 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.62, for a total transaction of $617,398.46. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 24.58% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On South Plains Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SPFI. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the second quarter valued at $4,708,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 34.5% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 346,567 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,490,000 after acquiring an additional 88,992 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 352.5% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 92,768 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,072,000 after acquiring an additional 72,269 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the first quarter valued at $1,809,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 10.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 306,343 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,041,000 after acquiring an additional 29,420 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.95% of the company's stock.

About South Plains Financial

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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