Curtis C. Griffith Sells 15,422 Shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Stock

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 15,422 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.69, for a total transaction of $550,411.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 854,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,508,454.42. This trade represents a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

South Plains Financial Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SPFI opened at $35.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.05 and a 12 month high of $40.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $35.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.96. The company has a market cap of $581.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 0.62.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $0.96 EPS 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 prior year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

South Plains Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. South Plains Financial’s payout ratio is 20.55%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SPFI. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in South Plains Financial by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 426,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,806,000 after purchasing an additional 21,444 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in South Plains Financial by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 274,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,318,000 after purchasing an additional 12,271 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in South Plains Financial by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 272,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,248,000 after purchasing an additional 6,292 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in South Plains Financial by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 248,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,634,000 after purchasing an additional 35,207 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in South Plains Financial by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 247,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,598,000 after purchasing an additional 71,656 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on SPFI shares. Hovde Group increased their price objective on shares of South Plains Financial from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective (down previously from $46.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Monday, January 27th.

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.