Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) Hits New 1-Year High - What's Next?

Key Points

• New 52-week high: Shares hit a mid-day 52-week high of $68.20 and analysts have raised targets—consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $68.33 (Stephens $73; Piper Sandler raised its target to $68).
• Solid fundamentals and payout: The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.61 on $49.65M revenue, trades at a P/E of 11.7 with a market cap around $750M, and pays a $0.25 quarterly dividend (1.5% yield, 17.3% payout ratio).
• Insider and institutional activity: A director sold 580 shares (insiders own 15.81%), while institutional ownership is about 49.5% with several funds recently increasing their stakes.

Shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $68.20 and last traded at $67.6810, with a volume of 34417 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.95.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SMBC shares. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $68.00 target price (up from $61.00) on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern Missouri Bancorp from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Southern Missouri Bancorp from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $73.00 price objective (up from $71.00) on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Two 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.com, Southern Missouri Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.33.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $750.48 million, a P/E ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $63.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The savings and loans company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $49.65 million during the quarter. Southern Missouri Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.92% and a net margin of 20.80%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. Southern Missouri Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.30%.

Insider Transactions at Southern Missouri Bancorp

In related news, Director Charles R. Love sold 580 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.00, for a total value of $37,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $974,080. This trade represents a 3.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 15.81% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Missouri Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 18,778 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,105,000 after purchasing an additional 2,734 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 105.7% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 718 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 68.0% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 44,596 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $2,637,000 after purchasing an additional 18,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $318,000. 49.49% of the stock is currently 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.

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