South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Receives $46.00 Average Target Price from Analysts

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) has been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.00.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SPFI. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research raised South Plains Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Hovde Group lifted their price target on shares of South Plains Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of South Plains Financial from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On South Plains Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in South Plains Financial by 11.0% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in South Plains Financial by 3.2% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in South Plains Financial by 0.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC increased its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 4.4% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 10,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. 54.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

Shares of SPFI opened at $40.96 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $665.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 0.60. South Plains Financial has a 1-year low of $30.01 and a 1-year high of $44.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $53.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.11 million. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 19.69% and a return on equity of 12.75%. On average, research analysts forecast that South Plains Financial will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.77%.

South Plains Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, February 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

South Plains Financial Company Profile

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.