Short Interest in Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC) Declines By 16.9%

Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 53,000 shares, a decrease of 16.9% from the January 15th total of 63,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 35,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SMBC remained flat at $60.42 during trading hours on Wednesday. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,840. The firm has a market capitalization of $681.54 million, a PE ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $58.36 and a 200 day moving average of $58.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Southern Missouri Bancorp has a twelve month low of $39.00 and a twelve month high of $68.69.

Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The savings and loans company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Southern Missouri Bancorp will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Southern Missouri Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 20.09%.

Insider Transactions at Southern Missouri Bancorp

In related news, Director Douglas Bagby sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 16.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southern Missouri Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $233,000. Creative Planning increased its stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 20.9% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,610 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,142 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 103.4% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 36,889 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $2,084,000 after purchasing an additional 18,756 shares in the last quarter. Triune Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $328,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 105.4% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 12,570 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $710,000 after purchasing an additional 6,450 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.49% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on SMBC. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Southern Missouri Bancorp from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of 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.

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 deposits products, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing transaction accounts, saving accounts, certificates of deposit, retirement savings plans, and money market deposit accounts.