South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Short Interest Update

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 51,900 shares, a growth of 25.4% from the November 30th total of 41,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 35,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of South Plains Financial from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th.

South Plains Financial Stock Down 2.7 %

South Plains Financial stock traded down $0.99 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $35.02. The stock had a trading volume of 26,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,749. South Plains Financial has a 1-year low of $24.05 and a 1-year high of $40.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $573.98 million, a P/E ratio of 13.63 and a beta of 0.60.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $72.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.90 million. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.39%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that South Plains Financial will post 2.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a positive change from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. South Plains Financial’s payout ratio is 23.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at South Plains Financial

In other South Plains Financial news, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.50, for a total value of $1,675,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 865,967 shares in the company, valued at $29,009,894.50. This represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 25.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On South Plains Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in South Plains Financial by 200.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 175,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,962,000 after buying an additional 117,207 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in shares of South Plains Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $223,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 272,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,248,000 after purchasing an additional 6,292 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 53,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 12,200 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in South Plains Financial by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 4,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

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.