Brokerages Set South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) PT at $46.75
by Danessa Lincoln · The Markets DailyShares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI – Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.75.
A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Piper Sandler raised shares of South Plains Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of South Plains Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of South Plains Financial from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised 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.
View Our Latest Report on South Plains Financial
Institutional Investors Weigh In On South Plains Financial
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new position in South Plains Financial during the second quarter worth $4,708,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in South Plains Financial by 34.5% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 346,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,490,000 after acquiring an additional 88,992 shares during the last quarter. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in shares of South Plains Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,624,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 349.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 46,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,797,000 after purchasing an additional 36,147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 63.3% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 76,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,968,000 after purchasing an additional 29,767 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.95% of the company’s stock.
South Plains Financial Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ SPFI opened at $41.44 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $41.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.69. The firm has a market cap of $676.72 million, a PE ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. South Plains Financial has a 1-year low of $30.01 and a 1-year high of $44.00.
South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $54.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.11 million. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 19.69%. 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis 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 (DPR) is currently 19.77%.
South Plains Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board 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.