Fmr LLC Buys 394 Shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI)

Fmr LLC grew its stake in South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) by 39.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,397 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC’s holdings in South Plains Financial were worth $47,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in South Plains Financial by 9.2% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in South Plains Financial by 14.3% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 175,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,725,000 after acquiring an additional 22,695 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning bought a new position in shares of South Plains Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $504,000. Finally, Salzhauer Michael grew its position in South Plains Financial by 87.1% during the second quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 18,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 8,708 shares during the period. 54.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

South Plains Financial Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of South Plains Financial stock opened at $35.72 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.05 and a 52-week high of $40.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $585.45 million, a PE ratio of 13.90 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.22.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.01. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.39%. The firm had revenue of $72.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.90 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 2.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Monday, October 28th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 28th. This is an increase from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.35%.

Insider Activity at South Plains Financial

In related news, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.50, for a total value of $1,675,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 865,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,009,894.50. This represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 25.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Hovde Group lifted their price objective on South Plains Financial from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

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.