South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) CEO Sells $184,977.60 in Stock

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 5,196 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.60, for a total transaction of $184,977.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 828,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,501,114.80. This represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

Shares of SPFI stock opened at $35.50 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $35.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.98. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.05 and a 12 month high of $40.90. The company has a market capitalization of $581.85 million, a PE ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 0.62.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.29. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 17.20% and a return on equity of 11.75%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. Analysts predict that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

South Plains Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On South Plains Financial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 200.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 175,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,962,000 after acquiring an additional 117,207 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial during the third quarter valued at about $223,000. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial during the third quarter valued at about $504,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 72.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 4.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 274,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,318,000 after acquiring an additional 12,271 shares during the last quarter. 54.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SPFI has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target (down from $46.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Hovde Group raised their price target on shares of South Plains Financial from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

South Plains Financial Company Profile

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.