South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Short Interest Down 30.4% in December

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 36,100 shares, a decrease of 30.4% from the December 15th total of 51,900 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 35,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Hovde Group boosted their price target on South Plains Financial from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at South Plains Financial

In other South Plains Financial news, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.50, for a total value of $1,675,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 865,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,009,894.50. The trade was a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 25.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On South Plains Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of South Plains Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $223,000. Creative Planning bought a new position in South Plains Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $504,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 72.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,891 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 274,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,318,000 after purchasing an additional 12,271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 29.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 53,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,810,000 after buying an additional 12,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

South Plains Financial Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ SPFI traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $34.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 32,279. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. South Plains Financial has a 52 week low of $24.05 and a 52 week high of $40.90. The stock has a market cap of $572.17 million, a P/E ratio of 13.56 and a beta of 0.62.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that South Plains Financial will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.