James Stein Sells 13,504 Shares of South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Stock

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Director James Stein sold 13,504 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.01, for a total transaction of $540,295.04. Following the sale, the director directly owned 344,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,780,724.32. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

South Plains Financial Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of SPFI stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $40.09. 80,232 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 94,348. The stock has a market cap of $767.56 million, a P/E ratio of 11.23 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $41.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.59. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.66 and a 52-week high of $45.09.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last released its 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). The company had revenue of $54.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.08 million. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 20.22%. Equities analysts predict that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

South Plains Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, April 27th were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 27th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.05%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SPFI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of South Plains Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of South Plains Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of South Plains Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Zacks Research lowered shares of South Plains Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of South Plains Financial from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On South Plains Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its position in South Plains Financial by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 106,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,143,000 after buying an additional 26,767 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 380,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,725,000 after purchasing an additional 34,420 shares during the period. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,624,000. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $875,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. 54.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.