Empowered Funds LLC Takes $3.98 Million Position in South Plains Financial, Inc. $SPFI

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 92,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in South Plains Financial by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial in the first quarter worth $315,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 14.0% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 20,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $743,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $106,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 10,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the period. 54.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Richard D. Campbell sold 27,286 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.14, for a total transaction of $1,231,690.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,384,969 shares in the company, valued at $62,517,500.66. This trade represents a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James D. Stein sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.54, for a total value of $4,454,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 242,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,817,518.88. The trade was a 29.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 260,000 shares of company stock worth $11,624,642. 24.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of South Plains Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target (up from $48.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen raised South Plains Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of South Plains Financial in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.60.

South Plains Financial Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of SPFI opened at $43.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $821.42 million, a P/E ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.96. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.34 and a 1 year high of $46.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.42.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.02. South Plains Financial had a net margin of 20.79% and a return on equity of 12.36%. The firm had revenue of $64.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.34 million. On average, equities analysts expect that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 27th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 27th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from South Plains Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. South Plains Financial’s payout ratio is presently 19.62%.

About South Plains Financial

South Plains Financial, Inc is the bank holding company for South Plains Bank, a community-oriented financial institution headquartered in Lubbock, Texas. The company operates as a full-service commercial bank, providing a broad spectrum of banking solutions to individuals, small businesses and agricultural clients. Its principal subsidiary, South Plains Bank, holds state and national banking charters and is subject to regulatory oversight by the Federal Reserve and various state banking authorities.

The company’s product offerings include traditional deposit accounts such as checking, savings and money market accounts, as well as time deposits.