South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) saw a large 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. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 33,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SPFI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 target price (down from $46.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Monday, January 27th. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on South Plains Financial from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 21,443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.36, for a total value of $758,224.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 807,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,544,006.40. This trade represents a 2.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Noe G. Valles acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $33.00 per share, with a total value of $3,300,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 486,437 shares in the company, valued at $16,052,421. This represents a 25.88 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 42,061 shares of company stock worth $1,493,613. Corporate insiders own 25.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of South Plains Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SPFI. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 19,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 2,127 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in South Plains Financial by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 42,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,484,000 after purchasing an additional 12,700 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in South Plains Financial by 148.8% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 44,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,555,000 after purchasing an additional 26,757 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in South Plains Financial by 51.0% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 65,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,266,000 after purchasing an additional 22,010 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in South Plains Financial by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 94,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,278,000 after purchasing an additional 31,983 shares in the last quarter. 54.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

South Plains Financial Trading Down 2.2 %

SPFI stock traded down $0.73 during trading on Friday, reaching $33.08. 31,811 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,974. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $545.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $34.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.20. South Plains Financial has a 1 year low of $24.05 and a 1 year high of $40.91.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that South Plains Financial 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 was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders 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 (DPR) is presently 20.55%.

South Plains Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 25th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management 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.