South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) Short Interest Up 25.4% in December

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

Insider Transactions at South Plains Financial

In other news, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 25.39% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On South Plains Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. US Bancorp DE purchased a new position in shares of South Plains Financial during the third quarter worth $36,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in South Plains Financial by 39.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in South Plains Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $149,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in South Plains Financial by 20.9% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 4,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Hovde Group raised their target price on South Plains Financial from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

South Plains Financial Stock Down 0.4 %

SPFI stock opened at $34.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $571.52 million, a PE ratio of 13.57 and a beta of 0.60. South Plains Financial has a one year low of $24.05 and a one 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 50 day moving average price is $37.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.49.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $72.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.90 million. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 10.39% and a net margin of 15.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that South Plains Financial will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 28th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This is a positive change from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 28th. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.35%.

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.