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

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the six research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.00.

A number of research firms recently commented on SPFI. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of South Plains Financial from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. 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 report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on South Plains Financial from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th.

Institutional Trading of South Plains Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in shares of South Plains Financial in the third quarter worth $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in South Plains Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in South Plains Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $57,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in South Plains Financial by 44.8% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in South Plains Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

Shares of SPFI stock opened at $42.34 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $688.03 million, a P/E ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 0.60. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $40.94 and its 200 day moving average is $39.52. South Plains Financial has a 1-year low of $30.01 and a 1-year high of $44.00.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 12.75%. The business had revenue of $53.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.11 million. Research analysts predict that South Plains Financial will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.77%.

South Plains Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.