The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Makes New $8.79 Million Investment in Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. $GSBC

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired 112,141 shares of Great Southern Bancorp worth approximately $8.79 million, giving it a 1.03% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 41.66% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with one Buy, two Hold ratings and a consensus rating of Hold; the average price target is $74, below the stock’s recent $78.87 price.
• Great Southern Bancorp exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.57 in EPS versus the $1.38 estimate and $56.87 million in revenue. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, equivalent to a 2.2% yield.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 112,141 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,793,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 1.03% of Great Southern Bancorp at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 716 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Great Southern Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $71,000. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in Great Southern Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $77,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $128,000. Institutional investors own 41.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Great Southern Bancorp

In related news, Director Julie A. Brown sold 851 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total transaction of $68,931.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,052 shares of the company's stock, valued at $571,212. This represents a 10.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 29.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GSBC shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Weiss Ratings cut Great Southern Bancorp from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Great Southern Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on 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 analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Great Southern Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.00.

Great Southern Bancorp Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:GSBC opened at $78.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $859.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 0.49. Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.76 and a 52 week high of $82.91. 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 50 day moving average of $79.02 and a 200 day moving average of $71.10.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $56.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.26 million. Great Southern Bancorp had a net margin of 20.72% and a return on equity of 10.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Great Southern Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 29th. Great Southern Bancorp's payout ratio is 28.57%.

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.

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