Southern Missouri Bancorp’s (SMBC) Market Perform Rating Reaffirmed at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated their market perform rating on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a $51.00 price target on the savings and loans company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $53.00.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Southern Missouri Bancorp from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ SMBC opened at $40.50 on Wednesday. Southern Missouri Bancorp has a 12-month low of $30.28 and a 12-month high of $55.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $460.49 million, a PE ratio of 8.82 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The savings and loans company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by ($0.05). Southern Missouri Bancorp had a net margin of 19.77% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The firm had revenue of $40.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.94 million. As a group, analysts expect that Southern Missouri Bancorp will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Southern Missouri Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 18.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sammy A. Schalk sold 913 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.22, for a total transaction of $40,372.86. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 93,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,132,005.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 17.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMBC. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $139,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $158,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 86.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,747 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 2,206 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 7,123 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $647,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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 interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing transaction accounts, money market deposit accounts, saving accounts, certificates of deposit, and retirement savings plans.