Insider Selling: South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Director Sells $699,918.00 in Stock

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Director Richard Campbell sold 15,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.02, for a total transaction of $699,918.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,350,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,436,728.42. This trade represents a 1.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SPFI opened at $42.45 on Friday. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.81 and a twelve month high of $46.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $43.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.67. The company has a market capitalization of $800.18 million, a PE ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

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

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. This is a positive change from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on SPFI. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up from $48.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of South Plains Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SPFI. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $61,644,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in South Plains Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $13,426,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in South Plains Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,981,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new stake in South Plains Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,346,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in South Plains Financial by 0.9% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 76,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,201,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

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.