Analysts Set South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Target Price at $46.25

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.25.

A number of research analysts recently commented on SPFI shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded South Plains Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Zacks Research cut South Plains Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded South Plains Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on South Plains Financial from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director James D. Stein sold 1,560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total value of $62,509.20. Following the sale, the director directly owned 342,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,738,881.04. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 30,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,204,340 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 24.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of South Plains Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SPFI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in South Plains Financial by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 437,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,994,000 after buying an additional 57,008 shares in the last quarter. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial during the third quarter valued at about $1,624,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 349.0% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 46,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,797,000 after purchasing an additional 36,147 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial during the first quarter valued at about $1,451,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 63.3% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 76,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,968,000 after purchasing an additional 29,767 shares in the last quarter. 54.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

South Plains Financial Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ SPFI opened at $42.37 on Friday. 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 has a 52 week low of $33.66 and a 52 week high of $45.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $811.39 million, a P/E ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $41.66 and its 200 day moving average is $41.04.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last issued 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that South Plains Financial will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Monday, April 27th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.05%.

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 purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.