Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $83.67.

SMBC has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens cut Southern Missouri Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Benchmark upgraded Southern Missouri Bancorp to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Stock Performance

SMBC opened at $72.59 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $799.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.29 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $74.53 and a 200 day moving average of $71.34. Southern Missouri Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $47.60 and a fifty-two week high of $79.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $51.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.14 million. Southern Missouri Bancorp had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 12.59%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Missouri Bancorp will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. This is a positive change from Southern Missouri Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. Southern Missouri Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Missouri Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SMBC. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $335,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in Southern Missouri Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $454,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 33.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 19,595 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,496,000 after acquiring an additional 4,924 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp in the second quarter worth $3,512,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp in the second quarter worth $1,629,000. Institutional investors own 49.49% of the company’s stock.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Company Profile

Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. It operates primarily through Southern Bank, a community-focused financial institution that provides banking services to individuals, families, farmers, and businesses.

Southern Bank offers deposit products, residential and commercial real estate lending, consumer loans, agricultural financing, and commercial loans. Its services also include online and mobile banking, treasury and cash-management solutions, and other financial products designed to support personal and business customers.

The bank traces its history to 1887 and serves communities across Missouri and neighboring markets through a network of banking offices and digital channels.