South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Receives $46.75 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $46.75.

Several brokerages have commented on SPFI. Hovde Group raised 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. Zacks Research downgraded South Plains Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on South Plains Financial from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded South Plains Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Monday, March 2nd.

South Plains Financial Stock Up 0.2%

SPFI stock opened at $43.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $712.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 0.54. South Plains Financial has a fifty-two week low of $32.56 and a fifty-two week high of $45.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.16 and a 200-day moving average of $40.22.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $54.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.11 million. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 19.69%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that South Plains Financial will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current year.

South Plains Financial announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

South Plains Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 27th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 27th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On South Plains Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 706,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,300,000 after buying an additional 7,889 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in South Plains Financial by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 480,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,584,000 after acquiring an additional 9,484 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in South Plains Financial by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 437,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,994,000 after acquiring an additional 57,008 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in South Plains Financial by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 293,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in South Plains Financial by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 181,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,041,000 after acquiring an additional 8,749 shares during the last quarter. 54.95% of the stock is 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.