Short Interest in South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Expands By 52.8%

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) was the target of a large growth in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 52,400 shares, a growth of 52.8% from the June 15th total of 34,300 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 34,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Hovde Group dropped their price objective on shares of South Plains Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ SPFI opened at $29.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $476.18 million, a P/E ratio of 7.67 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a fifty day moving average of $26.83 and a 200-day moving average of $26.74. South Plains Financial has a 52-week low of $23.34 and a 52-week high of $30.22.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $46.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.20 million. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 21.23% and a return on equity of 11.19%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that South Plains Financial will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 26th. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.97%.

Insider Activity at South Plains Financial

In other South Plains Financial news, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 7,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.12, for a total value of $204,519.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,055,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,581,858.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 25.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of South Plains Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPFI. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 85.7% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 19,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,000 after acquiring an additional 9,090 shares during the period. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,444,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 12,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 3,236 shares during the period. Finally, Salzhauer Michael purchased a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the first quarter valued at about $268,000. 54.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.