Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Boosts Position in Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. $GSBC

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC) by 25.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 50,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,163 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Great Southern Bancorp were worth $2,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 247,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,529,000 after buying an additional 18,718 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 69.2% in the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 106,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,880,000 after purchasing an additional 43,430 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 58.2% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 35,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,062,000 after purchasing an additional 12,906 shares during the last quarter. Dean Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 28,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,599,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 26,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,583,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on GSBC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Great Southern Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 15th. Zacks Research raised Great Southern Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.50.

Great Southern Bancorp Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Great Southern Bancorp stock opened at $64.01 on Tuesday. Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.57 and a fifty-two week high of $66.59. The business’s fifty day moving average is $59.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market cap of $716.27 million, a PE ratio of 10.63 and a beta of 0.53.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) last released its 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 return on equity of 11.28% and a net margin of 19.80%.The firm had revenue of $58.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.72 million. Analysts anticipate that Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Great Southern Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Mark A. Maples sold 1,450 shares of the company’s 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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP John M. Bugh sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.72, for a total transaction 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 27.93% of the company’s stock.

Great Southern Bancorp 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.