Nuveen Asset Management LLC Acquires 22,010 Shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) by 51.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,204 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,010 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.40% of South Plains Financial worth $2,266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SPFI. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in South Plains Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $101,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial during the 4th quarter worth $205,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in South Plains Financial by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments bought a new position in South Plains Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $249,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Raymond James dropped their target price on South Plains Financial from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Noe G. Valles bought 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $33.00 per share, with a total value of $3,300,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 486,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,052,421. This represents a 25.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 24.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

South Plains Financial Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:SPFI opened at $35.47 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $575.61 million, a P/E ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $33.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.13 and a 12-month high of $40.91.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.07. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 11.75% and a net margin of 17.20%. The business had revenue of $49.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.93 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

South Plains Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.00%.

South Plains Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About South Plains Financial

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.