Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $60.69 and last traded at $60.29, with a volume of 3706 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $58.60.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Stephens began coverage on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $676.01 million, a PE ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $54.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.59.

Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The savings and loans company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $42.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.18 million. Southern Missouri Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.61% and a net margin of 18.37%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This is an increase from Southern Missouri Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Southern Missouri Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 20.86%.

Insider Activity at Southern Missouri Bancorp

In other news, Director William E. Young sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.57, for a total value of $247,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 218,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,851,715.69. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director William E. Young sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.37, for a total transaction of $26,185.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 223,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,726,533.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William E. Young sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.57, for a total transaction of $247,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 218,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,851,715.69. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 16.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SMBC. BTC Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Southern Missouri Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth $801,000. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southern Missouri Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $861,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 86.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,747 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 2,206 shares in the last quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC increased its holdings in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 36.1% during the 1st quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 48,735 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $2,130,000 after purchasing an additional 12,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,701 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares during the last quarter. 49.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.