Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in Southern Missouri Bancorp implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• A total of 15 investors have a majority stake in the company with 52% ownership
• Recent sales by insiders

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 47% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

No shareholder likes losing money on their investments, especially institutional investors who saw their holdings drop 11% in value last week. However, the 9.4% one-year return to shareholders may have helped lessen their pain. But they would probably be wary of future losses.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Southern Missouri Bancorp, beginning with the chart below.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Southern Missouri Bancorp?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

Southern Missouri Bancorp already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Southern Missouri Bancorp's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

It looks like hedge funds own 5.4% of Southern Missouri Bancorp shares. That worth noting, since hedge funds are often quite active investors, who may try to influence management. Many want to see value creation (and a higher share price) in the short term or medium term. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is FMR LLC with 7.4% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 6.0% and 5.4%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. In addition, we found that Greg Steffens, the CEO has 2.6% of the shares allocated to their name.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 15 have the combined ownership of 52% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of Southern Missouri Bancorp

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just US$560m, and insiders have US$95m worth of shares in their own names. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 30% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Southern Missouri Bancorp. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Southern Missouri Bancorp .

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com