Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 330 Shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI)

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its position in South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,320 shares of the company’s stock after selling 330 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.06% of South Plains Financial worth $324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in South Plains Financial by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 247,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,598,000 after purchasing an additional 71,656 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial during the fourth quarter worth $101,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 28,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $980,000 after buying an additional 2,311 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 248,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,634,000 after buying an additional 35,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments bought a new position in shares of South Plains Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $249,000. 54.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

South Plains Financial Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ SPFI opened at $31.88 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $517.60 million, a P/E ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 0.46. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.13 and a 52 week high of $40.91. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.04.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.29. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 11.75% and a net margin of 17.20%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.55%.

South Plains Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SPFI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (down previously from $46.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Hovde Group upped their price target on South Plains Financial from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Transactions at South Plains Financial

In other news, Director Noe G. Valles acquired 100,000 shares of South Plains Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $33.00 per share, for a total transaction of $3,300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 486,437 shares in the company, valued at $16,052,421. The trade was a 25.88 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 21,443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.36, for a total value of $758,224.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 807,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,544,006.40. This trade represents a 2.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,061 shares of company stock valued at $1,493,613 in the last three months. 25.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.