South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Short Interest Up 109.0% in March

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 51,000 shares, an increase of 109.0% from the February 28th total of 24,400 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 33,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SPFI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (down from $46.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Monday, January 27th. Hovde Group raised their price target 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.

Insider Transactions at South Plains Financial

In related news, Director Noe G. Valles acquired 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $33.00 per share, for a total transaction of $3,300,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 486,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,052,421. This represents a 25.88 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 15,422 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.69, for a total value of $550,411.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 854,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,454.42. The trade was a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 42,061 shares of company stock valued at $1,493,613. Corporate insiders own 25.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 200.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 175,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,962,000 after purchasing an additional 117,207 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in South Plains Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,882,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 94,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,278,000 after buying an additional 31,983 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 148.8% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SPFI traded down $0.73 during trading on Friday, reaching $33.08. 31,811 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 36,974. The stock has a market cap of $545.36 million, a P/E ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.20. 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 has a 12-month low of $24.05 and a 12-month high of $40.91.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.29. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 11.75% and a net margin of 17.20%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that South Plains Financial will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.55%.

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

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.