The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Makes New Investment in Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. $GSBC

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 112,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,793,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $867,000. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in Great Southern Bancorp by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 130,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,057,000 after acquiring an additional 27,487 shares during the period. Globeflex Capital L P acquired a new stake in Great Southern Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,082,000. Inceptionr LLC purchased a new stake in Great Southern Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $488,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Great Southern Bancorp by 167.5% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 16,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 10,470 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.66% of the company’s stock.

Great Southern Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:GSBC opened at $78.87 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $79.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.10. The firm has a market cap of $859.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $53.76 and a one year high of $82.91.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $56.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.26 million. Great Southern Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.83% and a net margin of 20.72%. Research analysts expect that Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Great Southern Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 29th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Great Southern Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Insider Transactions at Great Southern Bancorp

In other Great Southern Bancorp news, Director Julie A. Brown sold 851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $68,931.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,052 shares in the company, valued at approximately $571,212. This represents a 10.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 29.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GSBC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut Great Southern Bancorp from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Great Southern Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Great Southern Bancorp from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Great Southern Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.00.

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.