Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC) Raises Dividend to $0.25 Per Share

Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 22nd, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the savings and loans company on Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a 8.7% increase from Southern Missouri Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23.

Southern Missouri Bancorp has a dividend payout ratio of 16.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Southern Missouri Bancorp to earn $5.70 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.92 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.1%.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Stock Performance

SMBC traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $56.37. 40,697 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 59,200. Southern Missouri Bancorp has a 12 month low of $45.10 and a 12 month high of $68.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.53. The stock has a market cap of $636.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SMBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Southern Missouri Bancorp from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Missouri Bancorp

In other news, Director William E. Young sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.23, for a total transaction of $159,690.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 42,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,270,206.27. The trade was a 6.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 16.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southern Missouri Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SMBC. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Southern Missouri Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $94,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in the first quarter worth $740,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 8.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 22,546 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,702 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 4.3% during the first 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 buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 122.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,623 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 5,306 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.49% of the company's stock.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Company 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.