South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Increases Dividend to $0.14 Per Share

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a dividend of 0.14 per share on Monday, May 13th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This is an increase from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13.

South Plains Financial has increased its dividend by an average of 54.9% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 4 consecutive years. South Plains Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 20.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect South Plains Financial to earn $2.57 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.2%.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

South Plains Financial stock opened at $26.00 on Friday. South Plains Financial has a 52 week low of $18.75 and a 52 week high of $30.22. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $25.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $427.18 million, a P/E ratio of 7.16 and a beta of 0.56.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.04). South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 21.54%. The firm had revenue of $66.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that South Plains Financial will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other South Plains Financial news, Director Noe G. Valles acquired 30,000 shares of South Plains Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.00 per share, for a total transaction of $810,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 195,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,278,824. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 100,000 shares of South Plains Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $2,475,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,103,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,318,975.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Noe G. Valles acquired 30,000 shares of South Plains Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.00 per share, with a total value of $810,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 195,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,278,824. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 25.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in South Plains Financial by 4.7% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in South Plains Financial by 60.7% in the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in South Plains Financial by 1.9% in the first quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 32,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in South Plains Financial by 9.8% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 9,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in South Plains Financial by 193.5% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. 54.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of South Plains Financial from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th.

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.