South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.14

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of 0.14 per share on Monday, May 13th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th.

South Plains Financial has raised its dividend payment by an average of 54.9% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 4 consecutive years. South Plains Financial has a payout ratio of 20.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect South Plains Financial to earn $2.57 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.2%.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SPFI opened at $26.00 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $25.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.86. South Plains Financial has a fifty-two week low of $18.75 and a fifty-two week high of $30.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $427.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.16 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.04). South Plains Financial had a net margin of 21.54% and a return on equity of 11.06%. The company had revenue of $66.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that South Plains Financial will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Raymond James upped their price target on South Plains Financial from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th.

Insider Transactions at South Plains Financial

In other South Plains Financial news, Director Noe G. Valles bought 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.00 per share, for a total transaction of $810,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 195,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,278,824. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,253,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,344,925. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Noe G. Valles purchased 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.00 per share, for a total transaction of $810,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 195,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,278,824. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 25.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On South Plains Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SPFI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in South Plains Financial by 130.2% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 36,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $966,000 after buying an additional 20,571 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in South Plains Financial by 57.0% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 6,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,000 after buying an additional 2,216 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in South Plains Financial by 8.6% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 56,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,499,000 after buying an additional 4,454 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in South Plains Financial by 40.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 73,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,950,000 after buying an additional 21,002 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in South Plains Financial by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 503,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,390,000 after buying an additional 2,282 shares during the period. 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.