Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on the stock from $75.00 to $83.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Southern Missouri Bancorp traded as high as $79.39 and last traded at $78.31, with a volume of 119134 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.85.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a report on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 target price (up from $79.00) on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised Southern Missouri Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.67.

Insider Transactions at Southern Missouri Bancorp

In other Southern Missouri Bancorp news, EVP Richard Windes sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,375 shares in the company, valued at $374,637.50. This represents a 27.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 15.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southern Missouri Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $16,579,000. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 37,825 shares in the last quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $3,554,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 7.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 63,467 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $3,336,000 after acquiring an additional 4,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $257,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.49% of the company’s stock.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Trading Up 0.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $852.75 million, a PE ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s 50-day moving average is $73.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.81.

Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $1.83 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $51.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.14 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. will post 6.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.27 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Southern Missouri Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 16.80%.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Company 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.