Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Lowers Holdings in South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lowered its stake in shares of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI - Free Report) by 68.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,607 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,740 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership's holdings in South Plains Financial were worth $264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its position in South Plains Financial by 39.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,397 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of South Plains Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $101,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of South Plains Financial by 72.4% during 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 during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in shares of South Plains Financial by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 4,631 shares of the company's stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in South Plains Financial by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,556 shares of the company's stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.95% of the company's stock.

South Plains Financial Price Performance

SPFI stock traded up $0.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $32.20. The stock had a trading volume of 41,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,746. South Plains Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.13 and a twelve month high of $40.91. The company's 50-day moving average price is $33.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $530.85 million, a P/E ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 0.46.

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.29. South Plains Financial had a return on equity of 11.75% and a net margin of 17.20%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that South Plains Financial, Inc. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

South Plains Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. South Plains Financial's payout ratio is 20.55%.

South Plains Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 25th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on SPFI. Hovde Group raised their price objective on South Plains Financial from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $45.00 price target (down previously from $46.00) on shares of South Plains Financial in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Noe G. Valles bought 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $33.00 per share, with a total value of $3,300,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 486,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,052,421. The trade was a 25.88 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Curtis C. Griffith sold 15,422 shares of South Plains Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.69, for a total value of $550,411.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 854,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,454.42. This represents a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,061 shares of company stock worth $1,493,613 over the last three months. 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.