Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Announces Earnings Results

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.19, Zacks reports. Great Southern Bancorp had a net margin of 21.33% and a return on equity of 11.29%.

Great Southern Bancorp Stock Performance

GSBC stock traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $77.54. The stock had a trading volume of 124,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 85,199. The stock has a market capitalization of $844.41 million, a PE ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 0.49. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.16. Great Southern Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $53.76 and a fifty-two week high of $82.40.

Great Southern Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 29th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 29th. Great Southern Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 27.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Great Southern Bancorp from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Great Southern Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Great Southern Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP John M. Bugh sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.59, for a total transaction of $168,975.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,790 shares in the company, valued at $120,986.10. The trade was a 58.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Mark A. Maples sold 2,387 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total transaction of $164,583.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,843.65. The trade was a 66.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,687 shares of company stock worth $938,407. Insiders own 29.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Great Southern Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 716 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Great Southern Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $128,000. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in Great Southern Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $206,000. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in Great Southern Bancorp by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 3,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Great Southern Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $246,000. 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.