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

Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of 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 trading volume of 35,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of SMBC stock opened at $60.08 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $58.63 and its 200 day moving average is $58.39. Southern Missouri Bancorp has a 1-year low of $39.00 and a 1-year 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. The company has a market cap of $677.70 million, a P/E ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 0.99.

Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The savings and loans company reported $1.30 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts predict that Southern Missouri Bancorp will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Southern Missouri Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 20.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at Southern Missouri Bancorp

In related news, Director Douglas Bagby sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total value of $413,560.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,240,680. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 16.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Southern Missouri Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SMBC. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in Southern Missouri Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,228,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $3,690,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 243.0% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 86,033 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $4,936,000 after purchasing an additional 60,953 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 147.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 89,957 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $5,082,000 after purchasing an additional 53,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 48.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 104,175 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $6,105,000 after purchasing an additional 33,902 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.49% of the company’s stock.

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.