Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $69.50 and last traded at $68.91, with a volume of 35745 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on SMBC. Weiss Ratings raised Southern Missouri Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Southern Missouri Bancorp from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $71.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.67.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $768.20 million, a PE ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 0.92.

Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.05. Southern Missouri Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.14% and a net margin of 21.36%.The business had revenue of $50.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.98 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Southern Missouri Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.69%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles R. Love sold 580 shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.00, for a total transaction of $37,120.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,220 shares in the company, valued at $974,080. The trade was a 3.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 15.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Missouri Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,152,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 275,411 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $14,476,000 after purchasing an additional 25,751 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $592,000. Clayton Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $16,579,000. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $431,000. 49.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Southern Missouri Bancorp

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.