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

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid 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 is Friday, April 26th.

South Plains Financial has increased its dividend by an average of 54.9% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 4 consecutive years. South Plains Financial has a payout ratio of 20.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research 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 Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SPFI opened at $26.00 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $25.82 and its 200-day moving average is $26.86. South Plains Financial has a 1 year low of $18.75 and a 1 year high of $30.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $427.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.16 and a beta of 0.56.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 21.54%. The firm had revenue of $66.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.25 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that South Plains Financial will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In other South Plains Financial news, Director Noe G. Valles bought 30,000 shares of South Plains Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.00 per share, with a total value of $810,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 195,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,278,824. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $2,475,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,103,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,318,975.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Noe G. Valles acquired 30,000 shares of South Plains Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.00 per share, with a total value of $810,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 195,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,278,824. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 25.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On South Plains Financial

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