Hovde Group Lowers South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Price Target to $32.00

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) had its price target reduced by Hovde Group from $34.00 to $32.00 in a report issued on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Hovde Group currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Separately, Raymond James upped their target price on shares of South Plains Financial from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, January 29th.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SPFI opened at $26.65 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $437.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.13 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $25.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. South Plains Financial has a twelve month low of $18.75 and a twelve month high of $30.22.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $66.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.25 million. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 11.32% and a net margin of 21.23%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. Research analysts predict that South Plains Financial will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current year.

South Plains Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. South Plains Financial’s payout ratio is presently 14.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 100,000 shares of South Plains Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $2,475,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,103,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,318,975.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $2,475,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,103,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,318,975.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,253,797 shares in the company, valued at $31,344,925. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 25.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of South Plains Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank acquired a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial during the third quarter worth $109,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in South Plains Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $143,000. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in South Plains Financial by 14.9% during the third quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 5,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Salzhauer Michael bought a new position in South Plains Financial in the first quarter valued at $268,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in South Plains Financial by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 12,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 3,236 shares during the last quarter. 54.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About South Plains Financial

South Plains Financial, Inc operates as a bank holding company for City Bank that provides commercial and consumer financial services to small and medium-sized businesses and individuals. The company operates through two segments, Banking and Insurance. It offers deposit products, including demand deposit accounts, interest-bearing products, savings accounts, and certificate of deposits.