Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

Shares of Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 60,214 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 31% from the previous session’s volume of 46,112 shares.The stock last traded at $62.42 and had previously closed at $62.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GSBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Great Southern Bancorp from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Great Southern Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. One equities research 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.50.

Great Southern Bancorp Trading Up 0.7%

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 company has a market cap of $699.48 million, a PE ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $61.25 and its 200 day moving average is $60.66.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $58.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.72 million. Great Southern Bancorp had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 11.28%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Great Southern Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 29th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 29th. Great Southern Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Insider Transactions at Great Southern Bancorp

In related news, VP John M. Bugh sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.72, for a total value of $101,010.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,318.80. This represents a 49.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark A. Maples sold 1,450 shares of Great Southern Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.93, for a total transaction of $86,898.50. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 27.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Great Southern Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GSBC. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Great Southern Bancorp by 1,301.8% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in Great Southern Bancorp by 150.4% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Great Southern Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $128,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.66% of the company’s stock.

About Great Southern Bancorp

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.