Insider Selling: South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Director Sells 4,936 Shares of Stock

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Director James Stein sold 4,936 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.06, for a total transaction of $197,736.16. Following the sale, the director owned 357,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,338,916.16. This trade represents a 1.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

SPFI traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.39. The company had a trading volume of 64,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 94,613. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.66 and a 12-month high of $45.09. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $42.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.50. The stock has a market cap of $754.32 million, a PE ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.03). South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 20.22%.The company had revenue of $54.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.08 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, February 23rd that permits the company to buyback $10.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

South Plains Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 27th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 27th. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SPFI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Hovde Group upped their price objective on shares of South Plains Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of South Plains Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of South Plains Financial from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of South Plains Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of South Plains Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, South Plains Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.25.

Institutional Trading of South Plains Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in South Plains Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in South Plains Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in South Plains Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. 54.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.