South Plains Financial, Inc. (SPFI) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.14 on May 13th

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of 0.14 per share on Monday, May 13th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th.

South Plains Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 54.9% per year 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% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities 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 Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of SPFI opened at $26.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $427.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.16 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.91. South Plains Financial has a fifty-two week low of $18.75 and a fifty-two week high of $30.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $25.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.86.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that South Plains Financial will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at South Plains Financial

In other South Plains Financial news, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,253,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,344,925. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,103,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,318,975.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,253,797 shares in the company, valued at $31,344,925. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 25.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of South Plains Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 564 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in South Plains Financial by 60.7% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in South Plains Financial by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 32,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in South Plains Financial by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 9,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in South Plains Financial by 193.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. 54.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

South Plains Financial Company Profile

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.