Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC) shares saw strong trading volume on Monday . 43,719 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the previous session’s volume of 74,073 shares.The stock last traded at $68.5050 and had previously closed at $68.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Great Southern Bancorp from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Great Southern Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Zacks Research raised Great Southern Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $65.00.

Great Southern Bancorp Stock Up 0.7%

The firm has a market cap of $768.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.11 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $64.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.36.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $55.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.75 million. Great Southern Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 21.33%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.84 EPS for the current year.

Great Southern Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 30th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. Great Southern Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.26%.

Insider Transactions at Great Southern Bancorp

In related news, VP Mark A. Maples sold 2,387 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total value of $164,583.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,843.65. The trade was a 66.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kevin L. Baker sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total transaction of $195,888.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 14 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $979.44. The trade was a 99.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 13,687 shares of company stock worth $938,407. Corporate insiders own 29.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in Great Southern Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,072,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Great Southern Bancorp by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 271,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,618,000 after purchasing an additional 24,131 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Great Southern Bancorp by 101.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after purchasing an additional 8,287 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp acquired a new position in Great Southern Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $243,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Great Southern Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $867,000. 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.