Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Announces Earnings Results

Key Points

• Great Southern Bancorp reported quarterly EPS of $1.57, topping analyst expectations of $1.38 by $0.19. The company also posted a 21.33% net margin and 11.29% return on equity.
• The stock rose 0.8% to $77.54 after the earnings release, with trading volume above average. Shares have ranged from $53.76 to $82.40 over the past year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43, or $1.72 annually, for a 2.2% yield. Its payout ratio is currently 27.26%.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.19, Zacks reports. Great Southern Bancorp had a net margin of 21.33% and a return on equity of 11.29%.

Great Southern Bancorp Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:GSBC traded up $0.58 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $77.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 124,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 85,199. The stock has a market capitalization of $844.41 million, a PE ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 0.49. Great Southern Bancorp has a 12 month low of $53.76 and a 12 month high of $82.40. 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 firm's 50 day simple moving average is $73.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.16.

Great Southern Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Great Southern Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Mark A. Maples sold 2,387 shares of Great Southern Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total value of $164,583.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,843.65. The trade was a 66.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Kevin L. Baker sold 2,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $195,888.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 14 shares in the company, valued at approximately $979.44. This represents a 99.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,687 shares of company stock valued at $938,407. 29.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Great Southern Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GSBC. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $392,000. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $470,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Great Southern Bancorp by 3,619.3% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,327 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 7,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Great Southern Bancorp by 568.3% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,841 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 4,967 shares during the last quarter. 41.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GSBC. 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 lowered Great Southern Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Great Southern Bancorp from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Great Southern Bancorp from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $65.00.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.