South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

SPFI has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of South Plains Financial from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on South Plains Financial from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their price target on South Plains Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SPFI opened at $41.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $676.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $39.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.01. South Plains Financial has a 1-year low of $30.01 and a 1-year high of $43.90.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 19.69%.The business had revenue of $53.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.11 million. Analysts forecast that South Plains Financial will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. This is a positive change from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 19.77%.

Institutional Trading of South Plains Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SPFI. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new position in South Plains Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,708,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 34.5% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 346,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,490,000 after acquiring an additional 88,992 shares during the period. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $1,624,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 349.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 46,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,797,000 after acquiring an additional 36,147 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 63.3% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 76,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,968,000 after acquiring an additional 29,767 shares during the period. 54.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.