South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Raises Dividend to $0.14 Per Share

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of 0.14 per share on Monday, May 13th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This is an increase from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13.

South Plains Financial has increased its dividend by an average of 54.9% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 4 years. South Plains Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 20.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect South Plains Financial to earn $2.57 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.2%.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

South Plains Financial stock opened at $26.00 on Friday. South Plains Financial has a 12-month low of $18.75 and a 12-month high of $30.22. The stock has a market cap of $427.18 million, a P/E ratio of 7.16 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $25.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.04). South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 21.54%. The firm had revenue of $66.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that South Plains Financial will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Raymond James increased their target price on shares of South Plains Financial from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th.

Insider Activity

In other South Plains Financial news, Director Noe G. Valles acquired 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.00 per share, with a total value of $810,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 195,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,278,824. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other South Plains Financial news, Director Noe G. Valles acquired 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.00 per share, with a total value of $810,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 195,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,278,824. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,253,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,344,925. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 25.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPFI. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in South Plains Financial by 4.7% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in South Plains Financial by 60.7% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 32,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $695,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 9,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 805 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 193.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

About South Plains Financial

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.