South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) have earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the six brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.00.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SPFI. Zacks Research raised South Plains Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on South Plains Financial from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their target price on South Plains Financial from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On South Plains Financial

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 89,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,956,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in South Plains Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $315,000. Truist Financial Corp bought a new position in South Plains Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $212,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 44.8% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. 54.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

South Plains Financial stock opened at $42.88 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $696.71 million, a PE ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. South Plains Financial has a 12-month low of $30.01 and a 12-month high of $44.00. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.13.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $53.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.11 million. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 19.69% and a return on equity of 12.75%. As a group, analysts expect that South Plains Financial will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. This is an increase from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.77%.

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.