South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $43.90 and last traded at $42.6050, with a volume of 34802 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.80.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SPFI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Hovde Group boosted their target price on shares of South Plains Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Zacks Research raised South Plains Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on South Plains Financial from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on South Plains Financial from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Monday, December 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

South Plains Financial Stock Down 0.1%

The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $40.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $696.71 million, a P/E ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 0.60.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $53.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.11 million. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 19.69% and a return on equity of 12.75%. As a group, research analysts expect that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. This is a positive change from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. South Plains Financial’s payout ratio is presently 19.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SPFI. Salzhauer Michael raised its holdings in South Plains Financial by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 22,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $875,000 after acquiring an additional 3,838 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 29.9% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in South Plains Financial by 138.8% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 1,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its holdings in South Plains Financial by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 106,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,143,000 after buying an additional 26,767 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. 54.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.