South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $43.90 and last traded at $42.6050, with a volume of 34802 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.80.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SPFI shares. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on South Plains Financial from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Hovde Group lifted their target price on South Plains Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of South Plains Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, South Plains Financial has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $46.00.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $689.87 million, a P/E ratio of 12.33 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $53.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.11 million. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 19.69% and a return on equity of 12.75%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. This is an increase from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SPFI. Salzhauer Michael lifted its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 22,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $875,000 after acquiring an additional 3,838 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in South Plains Financial by 29.9% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 634 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in South Plains Financial by 138.8% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 1,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 913 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 106,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,143,000 after buying an additional 26,767 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. 54.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.