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

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

South Plains Financial Stock Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ SPFI traded down $0.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $33.48. The stock had a trading volume of 24,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,585. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.87. 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 company has a market capitalization of $549.71 million, a PE ratio of 8.95 and a beta of 0.58. South Plains Financial has a 12 month low of $24.05 and a 12 month high of $35.61.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 28th. This is a boost from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 16.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SPFI shares. Hovde Group boosted their target price on shares of South Plains Financial from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler raised their target price on South Plains Financial from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Insider Transactions at South Plains Financial

In related news, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 1,599 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total transaction of $49,569.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 996,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,903,838. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other South Plains Financial news, Director Noe G. Valles bought 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $30.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 336,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,093,110. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 1,599 shares of South Plains Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total transaction of $49,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 996,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,903,838. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 25.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.