Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) Hits New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• 52-week high: Southern Missouri Bancorp shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $68.21 and last at $68.39, roughly a 3.2% rise from the prior close of $65.75.
• Analyst sentiment: Consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $68.67; analyst coverage is split (two Buys, two Holds) and includes price targets up to $73 (Stephens) and $68 (Piper Sandler).
• Fundamentals & payout: The firm reported Q4 EPS of $1.61 on $49.65M revenue, has a P/E of 11.76 and ROE of 11.92%, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.25 (1.5% yield, 17.3% payout ratio).

Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $68.21 and last traded at $68.39, with a volume of 68172 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $65.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SMBC. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $68.00 price target (up from $61.00) on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern Missouri Bancorp from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Southern Missouri Bancorp from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $73.00 target price (up from $71.00) on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern Missouri Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.67.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Trading Up 3.2%

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 fifty day simple moving average of $63.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $753.76 million, a P/E ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 0.92.

Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The savings and loans company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $49.65 million for the quarter. Southern Missouri Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.92% and a net margin of 20.80%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.06 EPS for the current year.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Southern Missouri Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern Missouri Bancorp news, Director Charles R. Love sold 580 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.00, for a total transaction of $37,120.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,220 shares of the company's stock, valued at $974,080. This trade represents a 3.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 15.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Missouri Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 432,463 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $22,731,000 after acquiring an additional 4,037 shares during the last quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 6.4% during the third quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 300,944 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $15,818,000 after purchasing an additional 18,002 shares in the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $16,579,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 275,909 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $16,312,000 after purchasing an additional 62,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 10.3% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 275,411 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $14,476,000 after acquiring an additional 25,751 shares in the last quarter. 49.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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