Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. $SMBC Shares Acquired by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. has increased its holdings in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 10.5%, owning approximately 1.92% of the company, valued at $11.96 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Southern Missouri Bancorp reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.23, alongside revenue of $47.61 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.25 per share, representing a yield of 1.8%, effective for investors on record by August 15th.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC - Free Report) by 10.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 229,885 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after acquiring an additional 21,788 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.92% of Southern Missouri Bancorp worth $11,959,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SMBC. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 39.9% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 6,100 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 1,739 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 16,414 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $942,000 after acquiring an additional 1,686 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 27,256 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,563,000 after acquiring an additional 1,983 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 397,765 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $22,820,000 after acquiring an additional 18,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 5,577 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SMBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $66.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $64.67.

Insider Activity at Southern Missouri Bancorp

In related news, Director William E. Young sold 10,000 shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $563,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 94,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,768.10. This trade represents a 9.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 16.60% of the company's stock.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ SMBC traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $57.53. The stock had a trading volume of 21,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,305. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.10 and a 1-year high of $68.69. The company has a market capitalization of $650.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.11 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $55.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.01.

Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. Southern Missouri Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 19.17%.The business had revenue of $47.61 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.60 million. On average, analysts predict that Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change from Southern Missouri Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Southern Missouri Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 19.31%.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Profile

Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Southern Bank that provides banking and financial services to individuals and corporate customers in the United States. The company offers deposits products, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing transaction accounts, saving accounts, certificates of deposit, retirement savings plans, and money market deposit accounts.