BlackRock Inc. Makes New Investment in Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. $GSBC

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 773,168 shares of Great Southern Bancorp during the second quarter, valued at approximately $60.6 million and representing a 7.1% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 41.66% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is generally neutral: Great Southern Bancorp has an average “Hold” rating and a $74 target price, while recent coverage included upgrades to the target price and downgrades from several research firms.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.57 EPS versus the $1.38 consensus and revenue of $56.87 million. It also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.43, equivalent to a $1.72 annualized dividend and a 2.2% yield.

BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 773,168 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $60,624,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 7.10% of Great Southern Bancorp as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Great Southern Bancorp by 1,301.8% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 771 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 716 shares during the period. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 24.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,309 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $128,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $206,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Great Southern Bancorp from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research lowered Great Southern Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Weiss Ratings cut Great Southern Bancorp from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Great Southern Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. One equities 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, Great Southern Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Julie A. Brown sold 851 shares of Great Southern Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $68,931.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,052 shares in the company, valued at $571,212. The trade was a 10.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 29.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Great Southern Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GSBC opened at $78.87 on Monday. Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.76 and a 12-month high of $82.91. The firm has a market cap of $859.68 million, a PE ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $79.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.15.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $56.87 million for 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Great Southern Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Great Southern Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.57%.

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.

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