Analysts Set South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) PT at $46.75

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $46.75.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of South Plains Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Piper Sandler upgraded South Plains Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Hovde Group raised their price target on South Plains Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on South Plains Financial from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On South Plains Financial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in South Plains Financial by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 706,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,300,000 after buying an additional 7,889 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in South Plains Financial by 2.0% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 480,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,584,000 after acquiring an additional 9,484 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 437,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,994,000 after acquiring an additional 57,008 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 293,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 181,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,041,000 after acquiring an additional 8,749 shares during the last quarter. 54.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

Shares of South Plains Financial stock opened at $44.42 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $42.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. South Plains Financial has a 12-month low of $31.49 and a 12-month high of $45.09. The company has a market cap of $725.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 0.54.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 19.69% and a return on equity of 12.51%. The company had revenue of $54.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.11 million. On average, equities analysts expect that South Plains Financial will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, February 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

South Plains Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 27th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 27th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.77%.

About South Plains Financial

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.