Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.07, Zacks reports. Great Southern Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.28% and a net margin of 19.80%.The firm had revenue of $56.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.03 million.

Great Southern Bancorp Trading Up 6.3%

Shares of GSBC stock opened at $66.97 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Great Southern Bancorp has a 1 year low of $47.57 and a 1 year high of $66.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $749.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.12 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.78.

Great Southern Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 29th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 29th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Great Southern Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP John M. Bugh sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.72, for a total value of $101,010.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 1,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,318.80. This trade represents a 49.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark A. Maples sold 1,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.93, for a total value of $86,898.50. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 27.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Great Southern Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GSBC. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 1,301.8% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Great Southern Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $128,000. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Great Southern Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $206,000. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 3,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 4.8% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GSBC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Great Southern Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Great Southern Bancorp from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Great Southern Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.50.

Great Southern Bancorp Company Profile

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc (NASDAQ: GSBC) is the bank holding company for Great Southern Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Springfield, Missouri. Through its subsidiary, the company provides a broad spectrum of financial products and services designed to meet the needs of individuals, small and mid-sized businesses, and professional clients across its regional footprint.

Great Southern Bank’s core business activities include deposit-taking, lending and treasury management.