South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Stock: Insider Richard Campbell Sells 18,848 Shares

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Director Richard Campbell sold 18,848 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.61, for a total transaction of $821,961.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,366,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,576,536.81. The trade was a 1.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

South Plains Financial stock traded down $1.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $42.86. The company had a trading volume of 168,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 98,760. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.66. The company has a market cap of $807.91 million, a P/E ratio of 11.65 and a beta of 0.47. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.81 and a fifty-two week high of $46.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.07. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 21.23% and a return on equity of 12.36%. The company had revenue of $65.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.22 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On South Plains Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SPFI. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in South Plains Financial by 71.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in South Plains Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $62,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial in the second quarter valued at about $103,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial in the second quarter valued at about $173,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the first quarter worth about $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPFI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised South Plains Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up from $48.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Monday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.60.

South Plains Financial Company Profile

South Plains Financial, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Lubbock, Texas. Through its principal subsidiary, City Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, agricultural customers and other organizations.

City Bank offers a range of products and services, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer loans, commercial and industrial lending, agricultural loans, real estate financing, mortgage lending, wealth management and treasury management services.