South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Receives $44.25 Average PT from Analysts

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $44.25.

SPFI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of South Plains Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of South Plains Financial from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Hovde Group raised their target price on South Plains Financial from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Piper Sandler cut South Plains Financial from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Tuesday.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SPFI opened at $40.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $654.55 million, a PE ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.61. South Plains Financial has a 12 month low of $30.01 and a 12 month high of $42.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $38.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.22.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.09. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 20.09%.The business had revenue of $54.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.07 million. Equities research analysts predict that South Plains Financial will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 27th were issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 27th. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On South Plains Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in South Plains Financial by 11.0% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in South Plains Financial by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in South Plains Financial by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 10,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 89,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,956,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 10,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.