Sei Investments Co. Buys 2,311 Shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI)

Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,215 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,311 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in South Plains Financial were worth $980,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SPFI. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 4.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 274,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,318,000 after buying an additional 12,271 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in South Plains Financial by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 272,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,248,000 after purchasing an additional 6,292 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of South Plains Financial by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 248,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,634,000 after purchasing an additional 35,207 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 200.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 175,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,962,000 after purchasing an additional 117,207 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position 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 worth $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 12,200 shares during the period. 54.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 5,196 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.60, for a total value of $184,977.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 828,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,501,114.80. This trade represents a 0.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Noe G. Valles bought 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $33.00 per share, for a total transaction of $3,300,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 486,437 shares in the company, valued at $16,052,421. The trade was a 25.88 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,061 shares of company stock valued at $1,493,613. 25.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

South Plains Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:SPFI opened at $31.18 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.18. 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 fifty-two week low of $24.05 and a fifty-two week high of $40.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $514.03 million, a P/E ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 0.46.

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, beating 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 prior year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 25th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

South Plains Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. South Plains Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SPFI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (down previously from $46.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Hovde Group lifted their price target on South Plains Financial from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th.

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.