South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Raised to Strong-Buy at Benchmark

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) was upgraded by analysts at Benchmark to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on SPFI. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of South Plains Financial from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded South Plains Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Zacks Research lowered South Plains Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded South Plains Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $47.60.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SPFI opened at $42.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $820.58 million, a P/E ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.26. South Plains Financial has a fifty-two week low of $35.20 and a fifty-two week high of $45.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $54.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.08 million. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 20.22% and a return on equity of 12.58%. On average, equities research analysts predict that South Plains Financial will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other South Plains Financial news, Director James D. Stein sold 1,560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total value of $62,509.20. Following the sale, the director owned 342,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,738,881.04. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 30,000 shares of company stock worth $1,204,340 in the last 90 days. 24.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPFI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in South Plains Financial by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 437,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,994,000 after purchasing an additional 57,008 shares in the last quarter. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. bought a new stake in South Plains Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,624,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in South Plains Financial by 349.0% during the 3rd 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 bought a new position in South Plains Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $1,451,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in South Plains Financial by 63.3% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 76,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,968,000 after purchasing an additional 29,767 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

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.