South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) CEO Curtis C. Griffith Sells 50,000 Shares of Stock

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.50, for a total transaction of $1,675,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 865,967 shares in the company, valued at $29,009,894.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

South Plains Financial Trading Up 15.8 %

NASDAQ SPFI opened at $39.91 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $654.01 million, a P/E ratio of 15.53 and a beta of 0.58. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.05 and a 12 month high of $40.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50-day moving average of $33.78 and a 200-day moving average of $30.44.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $72.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.90 million. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.59%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. This is an increase from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 28th. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SPFI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on South Plains Financial from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Hovde Group increased their price target on South Plains Financial from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPFI. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 45.1% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 18,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 5,624 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in South Plains Financial by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 95,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,547,000 after purchasing an additional 7,175 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in South Plains Financial by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 541,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,497,000 after purchasing an additional 12,196 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 3.8% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 209,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,595,000 after purchasing an additional 7,562 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in South Plains Financial by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 63,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,713,000 after acquiring an additional 4,787 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

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.