South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) CEO Sells $758,224.48 in Stock

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 21,443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.36, for a total transaction of $758,224.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 807,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,544,006.40. This trade represents a 2.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

South Plains Financial Stock Down 2.6 %

SPFI stock opened at $33.80 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $553.98 million, a P/E ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $24.05 and a one year high of $40.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.10.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

South Plains Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. South Plains Financial’s payout ratio is currently 20.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective (down from $46.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of South Plains Financial from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

Institutional Trading of South Plains Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. US Bancorp DE acquired a new position in shares of South Plains Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. FMR LLC boosted 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 valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of South Plains Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $101,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of South Plains Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $149,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 72.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,891 shares during the last quarter. 54.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.