Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC) Short Interest Update

Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC) saw a significant drop in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 53,000 shares, a drop of 16.9% from the January 15th total of 63,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 35,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp stock opened at $60.08 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $677.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 0.99. Southern Missouri Bancorp has a 12 month low of $39.00 and a 12 month high of $68.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The savings and loans company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.07. Southern Missouri Bancorp had a net margin of 17.72% and a return on equity of 10.56%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Southern Missouri Bancorp will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. Southern Missouri Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern Missouri Bancorp news, Director Douglas Bagby sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $413,560.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,240,680. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 16.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Missouri Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,909 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,142,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 52,993 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $3,040,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 5,577 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 13,350 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $766,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 8,420 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 889 shares during the period. 49.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SMBC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $76.00 target price on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Company Profile

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.