Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 27,379 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 12% from the previous session’s volume of 31,006 shares.The stock last traded at $54.80 and had previously closed at $55.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SMBC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Southern Missouri Bancorp from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $76.00 target price on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $57.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $619.90 million, a P/E ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 0.99.

Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The savings and loans company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.07. Southern Missouri Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.45% and a net margin of 17.72%. On average, analysts predict that Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.06 EPS for the current year.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. Southern Missouri Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Missouri Bancorp

In other Southern Missouri Bancorp news, Director Douglas Bagby sold 7,000 shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $1,240,680. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 16.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Missouri Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 397,765 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $22,820,000 after purchasing an additional 18,623 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 217,753 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $12,304,000 after purchasing an additional 2,113 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 208,097 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $11,939,000 after acquiring an additional 31,267 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 3.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 198,201 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $11,196,000 after acquiring an additional 6,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 109,664 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $6,291,000 after acquiring an additional 5,489 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.