Short Interest in Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC) Expands By 55.1%

Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during 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 trading volume of 32,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern Missouri Bancorp

In other Southern Missouri Bancorp news, Director Douglas Bagby sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total value of $413,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,240,680. This trade 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 this link. Corporate insiders own 16.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Southern Missouri Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $74,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Southern Missouri Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $138,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 147.5% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,542 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 2,111 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD bought a new position in Southern Missouri Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $220,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of 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. Institutional investors own 49.49% of the company’s stock.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:SMBC opened at $57.81 on Tuesday. Southern Missouri Bancorp has a 1 year low of $39.00 and a 1 year high of $68.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $57.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.00. 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 company has a market cap of $651.92 million, a P/E ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 0.99.

Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The savings and loans company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.07. Southern Missouri Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.45% and a net margin of 17.72%. As a group, analysts expect that Southern Missouri Bancorp will post 5.06 EPS for the current year.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Southern Missouri Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.09%.

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.