Empowered Funds LLC Makes New Investment in Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. $SMBC

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 46,088 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,512,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 122.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,623 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $501,000 after buying an additional 5,306 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,681 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Southern Missouri Bancorp during the first quarter worth $740,000. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Southern Missouri Bancorp during the first quarter worth $94,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 11.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 9,250 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares during the period. 49.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Southern Missouri Bancorp

In related news, EVP Richard Windes sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was 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 directly owned 5,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $374,637.50. This represents a 27.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 15.81% of the company’s stock.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Price Performance

SMBC stock opened at $72.63 on Wednesday. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.89. The company has a market capitalization of $800.38 million, a P/E ratio of 11.30 and a beta of 0.86. Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $47.60 and a 52-week high of $79.86.

Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $51.14 million. Research analysts expect that Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. will post 6.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from Southern Missouri Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. Southern Missouri Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SMBC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Stephens cut shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $83.00 target price (up from $79.00) on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.67.

Southern Missouri Bancorp 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.