South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) has been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.00.

SPFI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of South Plains Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Hovde Group increased their price objective on South Plains Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on South Plains Financial from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of South Plains Financial in a research report on Tuesday.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SPFI opened at $41.66 on Friday. South Plains Financial has a twelve month low of $30.01 and a twelve month high of $43.90. The firm has a market cap of $676.98 million, a PE ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The business has a fifty day moving average of $39.77 and a 200-day moving average of $39.03.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $53.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.11 million. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 19.69% and a return on equity of 12.75%. On average, equities research analysts predict that South Plains Financial will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is a positive change from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.60%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On South Plains Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 706,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,300,000 after acquiring an additional 7,889 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in South Plains Financial by 2.0% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 480,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,584,000 after purchasing an additional 9,484 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in South Plains Financial by 9.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 380,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,725,000 after purchasing an additional 34,420 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in South Plains Financial by 5.9% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 310,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,187,000 after buying an additional 17,434 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in South Plains Financial by 10.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 306,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,041,000 after buying an additional 29,420 shares during the last quarter. 54.95% of the stock is owned by 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.