South Plains Financial, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.14 (NASDAQ:SPFI)

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a dividend of 0.14 per share on Monday, May 13th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th.

South Plains Financial has increased its dividend by an average of 54.9% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 4 years. South Plains Financial has a payout ratio of 20.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect South Plains Financial to earn $2.57 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.2%.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ SPFI opened at $26.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $427.18 million, a P/E ratio of 7.16 and a beta of 0.56. South Plains Financial has a fifty-two week low of $18.75 and a fifty-two week high of $30.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.91.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.04). South Plains Financial had a net margin of 21.54% and a return on equity of 11.06%. The company had revenue of $66.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that South Plains Financial will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Raymond James lifted their price target on South Plains Financial from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th.

Insider Activity at South Plains Financial

In other South Plains Financial news, Director Noe G. Valles purchased 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.00 per share, for a total transaction of $810,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 195,512 shares in the company, valued at $5,278,824. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 50,000 shares of South Plains Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $1,250,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,253,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,344,925. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Noe G. Valles acquired 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.00 per share, for a total transaction of $810,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 195,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,278,824. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 25.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On South Plains Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in South Plains Financial by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,258,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,329,000 after buying an additional 111,833 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 562,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,864,000 after purchasing an additional 7,563 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 314,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,110,000 after purchasing an additional 37,593 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 237,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,340,000 after purchasing an additional 25,902 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 237,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,337,000 after purchasing an additional 23,195 shares during the last quarter. 54.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.