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

Key Points

• Southern Missouri Bancorp hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $78.48 and closing near $78.02, up about 2.8% on the day.
• Recent analyst coverage has been mixed but generally constructive, with the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $73.33, though targets and ratings vary across firms.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.60 per share and continues to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, equal to a 1.3% annual yield.

Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $78.48 and last traded at $78.0210, with a volume of 40897 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $75.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $79.00 price objective (up from $71.00) on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Southern Missouri Bancorp from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.33.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Trading Up 2.8%

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $71.58 and a 200-day moving average of $66.37. The company has a market capitalization of $860.00 million, a P/E ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.05. Southern Missouri Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.05% and a net margin of 21.36%.The business had revenue of $50.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.98 million. On average, research analysts predict that Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. will post 6.25 EPS for the current year.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Southern Missouri Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.69%.

Insider Transactions at Southern Missouri Bancorp

In other news, EVP Richard Windes sold 2,000 shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 5,375 shares in the company, valued at $374,637.50. This trade represents a 27.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 15.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 440,839 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $28,187,000 after buying an additional 11,946 shares in the last quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC grew its position in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 6.4% in the third quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 300,944 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $15,818,000 after acquiring an additional 18,002 shares in the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Southern Missouri Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $16,579,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 275,909 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $16,312,000 after purchasing an additional 62,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 86.5% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 100,724 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $5,294,000 after purchasing an additional 46,730 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.49% of the company's stock.

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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