Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $68.20 and last traded at $67.6810, with a volume of 34417 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $65.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SMBC shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 price objective (up from $61.00) on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $73.00 price objective (up from $71.00) on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.33.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $750.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.92.

Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The savings and loans company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $49.65 million during the quarter. Southern Missouri Bancorp had a net margin of 20.80% and a return on equity of 11.92%. Research analysts forecast that Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. Southern Missouri Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 17.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Missouri Bancorp

In other news, Director Charles R. Love sold 580 shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.00, for a total value of $37,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $974,080. The trade was a 3.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 15.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Missouri Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,152,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $592,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 10.3% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 275,411 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $14,476,000 after buying an additional 25,751 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $996,000. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $16,579,000. 49.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Company Profile

Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc (NASDAQ: SMBC) is a bank holding company headquartered in West Plains, Missouri, serving as the parent of Southern Bank. The company focuses on delivering community banking services to individual and commercial customers across southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. It operates branch offices in local markets and provides a comprehensive suite of deposit and lending products tailored to both urban and rural communities.

Through its subsidiary, Southern Bank, the company offers deposit products such as checking and savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, alongside digital and mobile banking platforms.