South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Shares Down 3%

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) shares dropped 3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $32.10 and last traded at $32.10. Approximately 4,008 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 32,343 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.08.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPFI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of South Plains Financial from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Hovde Group increased their price objective on shares of South Plains Financial from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th.

South Plains Financial Trading Up 1.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $542.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.84 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $28.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.99.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.10. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 16.53%. The firm had revenue of $71.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.50 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 29th. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.97%.

Insider Activity at South Plains Financial

In other news, insider Curtis C. Griffith 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Curtis C. Griffith 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 7,830 shares of South Plains Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.12, for a total value of $204,519.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,055,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,581,858.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 25.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SPFI. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in South Plains Financial by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Salzhauer Michael acquired a new position in South Plains Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $268,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings 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 worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 3,236 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 63,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,713,000 after purchasing an additional 4,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in South Plains Financial by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 95,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,547,000 after purchasing an additional 7,175 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

South Plains Financial Company Profile

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.