Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $79.39 and last traded at $78.31, with a volume of 119134 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $78.85.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SMBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $76.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective (up from $79.00) on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.67.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Stock Down 0.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $862.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s 50-day moving average is $73.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.31. Southern Missouri Bancorp had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 12.72%. The business had revenue of $51.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.14 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. will post 6.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from Southern Missouri Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Southern Missouri Bancorp’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard Windes sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.70, for a total value of $139,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,375 shares in the company, valued at $374,637.50. This represents a 27.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 15.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 2.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 440,839 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $28,187,000 after acquiring an additional 11,946 shares in the last quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 300,944 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $15,818,000 after purchasing an additional 18,002 shares in the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $16,579,000. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 275,909 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $16,312,000 after purchasing an additional 62,355 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 86.5% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 100,724 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $5,294,000 after purchasing an additional 46,730 shares in the last quarter. 49.49% of the stock is 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.