Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Hits New 52-Week High After Earnings Beat

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $69.38 and last traded at $68.38, with a volume of 27069 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $67.58.

The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.31. Great Southern Bancorp had a net margin of 20.70% and a return on equity of 11.33%. The firm had revenue of $55.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.75 million.

Great Southern Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 30th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 30th. Great Southern Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 27.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on GSBC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Great Southern Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Great Southern Bancorp from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Great Southern Bancorp news, Director Thomas J. Carlson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.89, for a total transaction of $119,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,989. This represents a 95.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William V. Turner sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.70, for a total transaction of $358,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 199,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,886,986.40. This represents a 2.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,680 shares of company stock worth $885,376. Company insiders own 29.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Great Southern Bancorp

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $1,072,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 9.8% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 271,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,618,000 after buying an additional 24,131 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 25.2% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 50,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,965,000 after buying an additional 10,163 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 101.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after buying an additional 8,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 12,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $765,000 after buying an additional 1,498 shares during the last quarter. 41.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Great Southern Bancorp Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $63.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $746.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

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.