Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . 137,463 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 153% from the previous session’s volume of 54,278 shares.The stock last traded at $64.56 and had previously closed at $66.24.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GSBC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Great Southern Bancorp from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Great Southern Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded 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 given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Great Southern Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.50.

Great Southern Bancorp Trading Down 0.5%

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 $716.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.02.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.01. Great Southern Bancorp had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 11.28%. The business had revenue of $58.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.72 million. Research analysts predict that Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Great Southern Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 29th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 29th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Great Southern Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Great Southern Bancorp

In other Great Southern Bancorp news, VP Mark A. Maples sold 1,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.93, for a total value of $86,898.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP John M. Bugh sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.72, for a total transaction of $101,010.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,790 shares in the company, valued at $103,318.80. This represents a 49.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 27.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Great Southern Bancorp by 9.7% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 228,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,650,000 after acquiring an additional 20,248 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,171,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 69.2% during the 1st quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 106,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,880,000 after purchasing an additional 43,430 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its position in Great Southern Bancorp by 58.2% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 35,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,062,000 after purchasing an additional 12,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Great Southern Bancorp by 179.1% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 7,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 4,525 shares during the period. 41.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.