South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.01, Yahoo Finance reports. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 11.42% and a net margin of 16.53%. The company had revenue of $72.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.90 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share.

South Plains Financial Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of South Plains Financial stock traded down $0.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $33.48. 24,794 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 35,585. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $549.71 million, a P/E ratio of 8.95 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $33.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.87. South Plains Financial has a twelve month low of $24.05 and a twelve month high of $35.61.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Monday, October 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. This is a positive change from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 28th. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Noe G. Valles purchased 50,000 shares of South Plains Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $30.00 per share, with a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 336,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,093,110. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 9,591 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.10, for a total transaction of $288,689.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 987,307 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,717,940.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Noe G. Valles acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $30.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 336,437 shares in the company, valued at $10,093,110. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 25.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on South Plains Financial from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Hovde Group boosted their price target on shares of South Plains Financial from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday.

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.