South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Short Interest Up 109.0% in March

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 51,000 shares, a growth of 109.0% from the February 28th total of 24,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 33,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Noe G. Valles purchased 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $33.00 per share, with a total value of $3,300,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 486,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,052,421. The trade was a 25.88 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 5,196 shares of South Plains Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.60, for a total transaction of $184,977.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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. Insiders sold 42,061 shares of company stock worth $1,493,613 in the last quarter. 25.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SPFI. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 39.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 72.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,000 after buying an additional 1,891 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P grew its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 19.5% during the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 40,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,359,000 after buying an additional 6,535 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,882,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in South Plains Financial by 77.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 47,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,617,000 after acquiring an additional 20,756 shares in the last quarter. 54.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

South Plains Financial Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of SPFI opened at $33.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $559.12 million, a PE ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $34.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. South Plains Financial has a 12 month low of $24.05 and a 12 month high of $40.91.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that South Plains Financial will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

South Plains Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. South Plains Financial’s payout ratio is 20.55%.

South Plains Financial announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SPFI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price (down previously from $46.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a report on Monday, January 27th.

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.