Short Interest in Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC) Grows By 19.9%

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 250,020 shares, an increase of 19.9% from the January 15th total of 208,570 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 71,229 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days. Approximately 3.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 3.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 71,229 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GSBC shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Great Southern Bancorp from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Great Southern Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.50.

Great Southern Bancorp Price Performance

Great Southern Bancorp stock traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $64.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 46,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 61,448. Great Southern Bancorp has a 12 month low of $47.57 and a 12 month high of $67.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $63.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.11. The company has a market capitalization of $719.79 million, a PE ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 0.52.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $56.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.03 million. Great Southern Bancorp had a net margin of 20.70% and a return on equity of 11.40%. Analysts anticipate that Great Southern Bancorp will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Great Southern Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 29th were given 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 dividend yield of 2.7%. Great Southern Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Great Southern Bancorp

In related news, VP Mark A. Maples sold 1,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.93, for a total transaction of $86,898.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William V. Turner sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.70, for a total transaction of $358,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 199,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,886,986.40. This trade represents a 2.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 16,130 shares of company stock worth $972,274 in the last quarter. 27.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Great Southern Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its stake in Great Southern Bancorp by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 26,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,653,000 after buying an additional 10,963 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Great Southern Bancorp by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Great Southern Bancorp by 59.4% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Great Southern Bancorp by 40.6% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 17,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 5,124 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 11,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $700,000 after buying an additional 2,877 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.66% of the company’s stock.

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.