Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $79.76 and last traded at $78.30, with a volume of 18595 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $78.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on GSBC. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered Great Southern Bancorp from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Great Southern Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.00.

Great Southern Bancorp Stock Performance

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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.13. The company has a market cap of $853.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.42 and a beta of 0.50.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $54.75 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Great Southern Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 29th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 29th. Great Southern Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Great Southern Bancorp

In other news, VP Mark A. Maples sold 2,387 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total value of $164,583.65. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,187 shares in the company, valued at $81,843.65. This represents a 66.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 90 days, insiders sold 13,687 shares of company stock valued at $938,407. Company insiders own 29.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Great Southern Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Great Southern Bancorp by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 4.8% in 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 buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Great Southern Bancorp by 68.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $755,000 after acquiring an additional 5,546 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Great Southern Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $1,146,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 13,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $798,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 41.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.