Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Great Southern Bancorp shares hit a new 52-week high, reaching as much as $82.40 intraday before closing at $79.18, up about 0.8% on the day.
• Despite the stock strength, analyst sentiment remains cautious: the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $65, and recent rating changes included downgrades from Zacks Research and Wall Street Zen.
• The company continues to show solid fundamentals, including better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.58 per share and a recently announced quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, implying a 2.2% yield.

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $82.40 and last traded at $79.18, with a volume of 91478 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $78.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GSBC shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Great Southern Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Great Southern Bancorp from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Great Southern Bancorp from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. 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 stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.00.

Great Southern Bancorp Trading Up 0.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.53. The company has a market capitalization of $865.12 million, a P/E ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 0.49.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $55.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.75 million. Great Southern Bancorp had a net margin of 21.33% and a return on equity of 11.29%. Sell-side analysts expect that Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Great Southern Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 29th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 29th. Great Southern Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 27.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Great Southern Bancorp news, VP John M. Bugh sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.59, for a total transaction of $168,975.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 1,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $120,986.10. This represents a 58.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kevin L. Baker sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total transaction of $195,888.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 14 shares in the company, valued at $979.44. This trade represents a 99.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 13,687 shares of company stock valued at $938,407 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 29.75% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Great Southern Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GSBC. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Great Southern Bancorp by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,138 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Great Southern Bancorp by 68.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,641 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $755,000 after acquiring an additional 5,546 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Great Southern Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $1,146,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Great Southern Bancorp by 1.9% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 13,580 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $798,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.66% of the company's stock.

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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