Curtis C. Griffith Sells 7,830 Shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Stock

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 7,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.12, for a total transaction of $204,519.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,055,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,581,858.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SPFI traded up $1.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $26.28. 34,768 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 28,765. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.96 and a 52 week high of $30.22. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.95. The firm has a market cap of $431.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $46.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.20 million. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 21.23% and a return on equity of 11.19%. On average, equities research analysts expect that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

South Plains Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th were paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 26th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPFI. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Salzhauer Michael purchased a new position in South Plains Financial in the first quarter valued at about $268,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 12,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 3,236 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in South Plains Financial by 85.7% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 19,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,000 after buying an additional 9,090 shares during the period. Finally, Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in South Plains Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,444,000. 54.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Hovde Group lowered their target price on shares of South Plains Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th.

About South Plains Financial

South Plains Financial, Inc operates as a bank holding company for City Bank that provides commercial and consumer financial services to small and medium-sized businesses and individuals. The company operates through two segments, Banking and Insurance. It offers deposit products, including demand deposit accounts, interest-bearing products, savings accounts, and certificate of deposits.