Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Southern Missouri Bancorp Stock Down 0.7%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.46 and its 200 day simple 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $862.98 million, a P/E ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 0.86.

Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $51.14 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. will post 6.9 EPS for the current year.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Missouri Bancorp

In related news, EVP Richard Windes sold 2,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $374,637.50. The trade was a 27.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 15.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SMBC. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 124.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 564 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 105.7% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 718 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Southern Missouri Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $66,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $94,000. 49.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.