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

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, Zacks reports. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This is a boost from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13.

South Plains Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 54.9% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 4 consecutive years. South Plains Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 20.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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 Trading Up 2.2 %

SPFI opened at $26.00 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $25.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.86. The company has a market capitalization of $427.18 million, a P/E ratio of 7.16 and a beta of 0.56. South Plains Financial has a 52 week low of $18.75 and a 52 week high of $30.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $66.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.25 million. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 21.54%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that South Plains Financial will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Raymond James increased their target price 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 Buying and Selling at South Plains Financial

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

Institutional Trading of South Plains Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SPFI. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in South Plains Financial by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,258,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,329,000 after acquiring an additional 111,833 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in South Plains Financial by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 562,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,864,000 after acquiring an additional 7,563 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in South Plains Financial by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 314,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,110,000 after acquiring an additional 37,593 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in South Plains Financial by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 237,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,340,000 after acquiring an additional 25,902 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in South Plains Financial by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 237,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,337,000 after acquiring an additional 23,195 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

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.