Curtis C. Griffith, Chairman and CEO of South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI), recently sold 50,000 shares of the company's common stock in a private transaction with Noe G. Valles, a director of the company. The shares were sold at a price of $33.50 each, totaling $1.68 million. Following this transaction, Griffith holds 865,967 shares directly. Additionally, Griffith has indirect ownership interests in several trusts and through his spouse, with varying amounts of shares held in each. The transaction reflects Griffith's ongoing management of his holdings in the company.
In other recent news, South Plains Financial reported steady diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.66 in its Q3 2024 earnings call. The company experienced a decrease in its loan portfolio, but saw an increase in deposits and maintained a robust capital position. The Texas-based bank also announced a 7% increase in its quarterly dividend and is currently executing a $10 million stock repurchase program.
Among recent developments, the bank's management has projected loan growth and improved economic conditions, potentially influenced by anticipated Federal Reserve interest rate reductions. In terms of credit quality, South Plains Financial remains solid with no adverse trends reported. However, the bank did note a slight increase in nonperforming loans to $24.7 million.
Despite a decline in non-interest income to $10.6 million, largely due to lower mortgage banking revenues, the bank's net interest margin improved to 3.65%. Executives at South Plains Financial anticipate further performance improvements starting in Q1 2025, with expectations of a robust loan pipeline materializing early in the year.
InvestingPro Insights
South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) has been showing strong performance recently, with the stock trading near its 52-week high and demonstrating a robust return over the last three months. According to InvestingPro data, the company's stock has seen a 15.08% price total return over the past three months and an impressive 28.18% return over the last six months.
Despite the recent insider sale by CEO Curtis C. Griffith, there are positive indicators for the company. An InvestingPro Tip highlights that SPFI has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years, which may be appealing to income-focused investors. The current dividend yield stands at 1.74%, with a notable dividend growth of 15.38% in the last twelve months.
From a valuation perspective, SPFI's P/E ratio (adjusted) is 12.97, which is relatively modest compared to the broader market. This could suggest that the stock might still have room for growth, especially considering the company's profitability over the last twelve months and analysts' expectations of continued profitability this year.
It's worth noting that while the CEO's sale of shares might raise questions, the company's fundamentals appear solid. The market cap of $662.35 million and a price-to-book ratio of 1.27 indicate that the stock is not significantly overvalued based on its assets.
Investors interested in a more comprehensive analysis can access additional insights through InvestingPro, which offers 10 more tips for SPFI, providing a deeper understanding of the company's financial health and market position.
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