Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $79.78 and last traded at $79.33, with a volume of 79951 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $78.78.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SMBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Southern Missouri Bancorp from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $83.00 target price (up from $79.00) on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern Missouri Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.67.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $874.22 million, a PE ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $74.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.31. Southern Missouri Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 22.63%.The firm had revenue of $51.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $51.14 million. Research analysts forecast that Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. will post 6.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a boost from Southern Missouri Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Southern Missouri Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $139,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $374,637.50. This represents a 27.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 15.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Missouri Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $16,579,000. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 71.1% during the 4th quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 91,032 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $5,382,000 after purchasing an additional 37,825 shares during the last quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,554,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position 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 valued at $28,187,000 after purchasing an additional 11,946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 3.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 46,088 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $2,947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,492 shares during the last quarter. 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.