2,900 Shares in South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Acquired by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 2,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 39.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in South Plains Financial by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 4,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in South Plains Financial by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,193,000 after acquiring an additional 991 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in South Plains Financial by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 19,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $661,000 after buying an additional 1,512 shares in the last quarter. 54.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SPFI. Hovde Group raised their target price on South Plains Financial from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (down from $46.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Transactions at South Plains Financial

In other news, Director Noe G. Valles purchased 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $33.00 per share, with a total value of $3,300,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 486,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,052,421. This trade represents a 25.88 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 5,196 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.60, for a total value of $184,977.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 828,683 shares in the company, valued at $29,501,114.80. This trade represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,061 shares of company stock valued at $1,493,613. 25.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

South Plains Financial Trading Down 4.1 %

Shares of SPFI opened at $30.95 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $33.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $510.24 million, a PE ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 0.46. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.43 and a twelve month 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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company posted $0.61 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.55%.

South Plains Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 25th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.