South Plains Financial, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.14 (NASDAQ:SPFI)

South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of 0.14 per share on Monday, May 13th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th.

South Plains Financial has raised its dividend payment by an average of 54.9% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 5 years. South Plains Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 21.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect South Plains Financial to earn $2.55 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.0%.

South Plains Financial Stock Performance

Shares of South Plains Financial stock opened at $26.73 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $439.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.36 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $25.86 and its 200 day moving average is $26.86. South Plains Financial has a 1 year low of $18.75 and a 1 year high of $30.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $66.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.25 million. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 21.54%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that South Plains Financial will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of South Plains Financial from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling at South Plains Financial

In related news, Director Noe G. Valles bought 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.00 per share, for a total transaction of $810,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 195,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,278,824. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other South Plains Financial news, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,253,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,344,925. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Noe G. Valles bought 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.00 per share, for a total transaction of $810,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 195,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,278,824. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 25.39% of the company’s stock.

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.