Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) Sees Large Volume Increase - Still a Buy?

Shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 74,839 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 116% from the previous session's volume of 34,638 shares.The stock last traded at $56.44 and had previously closed at $55.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $642.52 million, a P/E ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.98. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $54.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.52.

Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The savings and loans company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.08. Southern Missouri Bancorp had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 11.06%. The firm had revenue of $46.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.33 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Missouri Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $94,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $138,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 147.5% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,542 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 2,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD purchased a new stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.49% of the company's stock.

About Southern Missouri Bancorp

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.