Noe G. Valles Purchases 100,000 Shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Stock

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Director Noe G. Valles acquired 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $33.00 per share, with a total value of $3,300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 486,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,052,421. The trade was a 25.88 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

Shares of SPFI opened at $32.62 on Thursday. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.05 and a 1-year high of $40.91. The stock has a market cap of $534.64 million, a PE ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $34.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.28.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.29. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 17.20% and a return on equity of 11.75%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

South Plains Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 25th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

South Plains Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On South Plains Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SPFI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 200.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 175,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,962,000 after buying an additional 117,207 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial in the third quarter valued at about $2,882,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 248,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,634,000 after buying an additional 35,207 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 94,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,278,000 after buying an additional 31,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 148.8% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 44,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,555,000 after buying an additional 26,757 shares during the last quarter. 54.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SPFI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on shares of South Plains Financial from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective (down from $46.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

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.