Prospector Partners LLC Acquires 2,050 Shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI)

Prospector Partners LLC raised its holdings in South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) by 6.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,340 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,050 shares during the period. Prospector Partners LLC owned about 0.20% of South Plains Financial worth $900,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salzhauer Michael raised its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 87.1% in the 2nd quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 18,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 8,708 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 9.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 364,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,837,000 after purchasing an additional 30,665 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 14.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 175,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,725,000 after purchasing an additional 22,695 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 14.3% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 239,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,451,000 after purchasing an additional 29,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 8.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 63,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,713,000 after buying an additional 4,787 shares during the last quarter. 54.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SPFI shares. Hovde Group raised their price objective on South Plains Financial from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of South Plains Financial from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at South Plains Financial

In other news, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 1,599 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total transaction of $49,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 996,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,903,838. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other South Plains Financial news, Director Noe G. Valles acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $30.00 per share, with a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 336,437 shares in the company, valued at $10,093,110. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 1,599 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total transaction of $49,569.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 996,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,903,838. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 25.39% of the company’s stock.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

SPFI stock opened at $33.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $555.46 million, a PE ratio of 9.06 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day moving average of $32.58 and a 200-day moving average of $28.55. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.05 and a 12-month high of $34.93.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $71.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $46.50 million. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 11.42% and a net margin of 16.53%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

South Plains Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th were given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 14.97%.

South Plains Financial 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.