South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) CEO Curtis C. Griffith Sells 1,599 Shares

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 1,599 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total value of $49,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 996,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,903,838. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

Shares of SPFI stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $30.08. 67,727 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 33,809. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $28.33 and its 200-day moving average is $27.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.75 and a 52 week high of $33.85. The stock has a market cap of $493.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.04 and a beta of 0.59.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.10. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 16.53% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The firm had revenue of $71.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

South Plains Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 12th. Investors of record on Monday, July 29th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 29th. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SPFI. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 35.1% in 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 during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in South Plains Financial by 3.8% in 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 during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in South Plains Financial by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in South Plains Financial by 8.2% during 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 during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 63,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,713,000 after purchasing an additional 4,787 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on SPFI shares. 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 raised their price objective on shares of South Plains Financial from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th.

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.