Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $71.66 and last traded at $71.6240, with a volume of 173 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $70.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $76.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $71.00 price target (up from $68.00) on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Southern Missouri Bancorp from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.67.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $67.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $778.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 0.88.

Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.05. Southern Missouri Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.05% and a net margin of 21.36%.The business had revenue of $50.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.98 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Southern Missouri Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Richard Windes sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was 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 directly owned 5,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $374,637.50. This trade represents a 27.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 15.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Missouri Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 2.8% during the 1st 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. FJ Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $16,579,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 29.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in 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 valued at $14,476,000 after purchasing an additional 25,751 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.