Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $70.93 and last traded at $70.9450, with a volume of 61553 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $70.04.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GSBC. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Great Southern Bancorp from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Zacks Research upgraded Great Southern Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Great Southern Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $65.00.

Great Southern Bancorp Stock Up 1.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $774.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $65.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.19.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.31. Great Southern Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.29% and a net margin of 21.33%.The firm had revenue of $55.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.75 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.84 EPS for the current year.

Great Southern Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 30th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 30th. Great Southern Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.26%.

Insider Activity

In other Great Southern Bancorp news, VP John M. Bugh sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.59, for a total value of $168,975.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,986.10. This represents a 58.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Joseph W. Turner sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.16, for a total transaction of $408,960.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 136,182 shares in the company, valued at $9,282,165.12. This represents a 4.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 13,687 shares of company stock worth $938,407. Company insiders own 29.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Great Southern Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in Great Southern Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake 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 worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the period. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $77,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 24.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $128,000. 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.