South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Receives $46.25 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.25.

SPFI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Hovde Group upped their price objective on shares of South Plains Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of South Plains Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of South Plains Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of South Plains Financial from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of South Plains Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th.

Insider Transactions at South Plains Financial

In other South Plains Financial news, Director James D. Stein sold 4,936 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.06, for a total transaction of $197,736.16. Following the sale, the director directly owned 357,936 shares in the company, valued at $14,338,916.16. This represents a 1.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 24.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On South Plains Financial

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in South Plains Financial by 71.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 642 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in South Plains Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in South Plains Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in South Plains Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in South Plains Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $60,000. 54.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SPFI stock opened at $39.94 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $41.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.56. 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 one year low of $33.66 and a one year high of $45.09. The firm has a market cap of $764.85 million, a P/E ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.48.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $54.08 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that South Plains Financial will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

South Plains Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 27th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 27th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 19.05%.

South Plains Financial announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, February 23rd that allows the company to buyback $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.