Legal & General Group Plc Makes New Investment in Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. $SMBC

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,928 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $528,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.06% of Southern Missouri Bancorp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SMBC. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Southern Missouri Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $85,270,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 2.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 440,839 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $28,187,000 after acquiring an additional 11,946 shares during the period. FJ Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern Missouri Bancorp by 6.4% during the third quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 300,944 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $15,818,000 after acquiring an additional 18,002 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 275,909 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $16,312,000 after acquiring an additional 62,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $18,079,000. 49.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp stock opened at $73.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $810.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $75.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $47.60 and a twelve month high of $79.86.

Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.31. Southern Missouri Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 22.63%.The firm had revenue of $51.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $51.14 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. will post 6.78 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from Southern Missouri Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Southern Missouri Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 16.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SMBC. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Southern Missouri Bancorp from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southern Missouri Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price objective (up from $79.00) on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern Missouri Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.67.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Profile

Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc (NASDAQ: SMBC) is a bank holding company headquartered in West Plains, Missouri, serving as the parent of Southern Bank. The company focuses on delivering community banking services to individual and commercial customers across southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. It operates branch offices in local markets and provides a comprehensive suite of deposit and lending products tailored to both urban and rural communities.

Through its subsidiary, Southern Bank, the company offers deposit products such as checking and savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, alongside digital and mobile banking platforms.