South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) have earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $46.00.

SPFI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded South Plains Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Hovde Group lifted 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. 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. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on South Plains Financial from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, December 22nd.

Institutional Trading of South Plains Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Truist Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in South Plains Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $336,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in South Plains Financial by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 292,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,552,000 after buying an additional 14,471 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 34.5% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 346,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,490,000 after buying an additional 88,992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $321,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

South Plains Financial Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ SPFI opened at $41.66 on Friday. South Plains Financial has a 52-week low of $30.01 and a 52-week high of $43.90. 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 stock has a market cap of $676.98 million, a P/E ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $39.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.03.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $53.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.11 million. Analysts expect that South Plains Financial will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd will be given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. South Plains Financial’s payout ratio is presently 18.60%.

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.