American Century Companies Inc. Buys 29,420 Shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. $SPFI

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) by 10.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 306,343 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 29,420 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.89% of South Plains Financial worth $11,041,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SPFI. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 10,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in South Plains Financial by 0.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 89,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,956,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in South Plains Financial by 44.8% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in South Plains Financial by 2.5% in the second quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 24,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SPFI opened at $39.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.86. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.01 and a 1-year high of $42.38. The stock has a market cap of $638.30 million, a PE ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 0.61.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $54.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.07 million. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 20.09% and a return on equity of 13.16%. As a group, analysts forecast that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 27th were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 27th. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SPFI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Hovde Group boosted their target price on shares of South Plains Financial from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research lowered shares of South Plains Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of South Plains Financial from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut South Plains Financial from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.00.

Insider Activity at South Plains Financial

In other South Plains Financial news, Director Richard D. Campbell sold 15,583 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.62, for a total value of $617,398.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,529,386 shares in the company, valued at $60,594,273.32. This represents a 1.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 24.58% of the company’s stock.

South Plains Financial 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.