Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 82,200 shares, an increase of 55.1% from the January 31st total of 53,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 32,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SMBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on 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. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $76.00 target price on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Douglas Bagby sold 7,000 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $1,240,680. This represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 16.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern Missouri Bancorp

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $74,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $138,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 147.5% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,542 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 2,111 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new position in Southern Missouri Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $220,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 139.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,673 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 2,722 shares in the last quarter. 49.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Price Performance

SMBC stock traded up $1.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $58.30. The stock had a trading volume of 27,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,052. Southern Missouri Bancorp has a twelve month low of $39.00 and a twelve month high of $68.69. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $57.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.92. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $657.45 million, a P/E ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 0.99.

Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 17.72% and a return on equity of 10.45%. As a group, research analysts predict that Southern Missouri Bancorp will post 5.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Southern Missouri Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.09%.

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.