Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Reaches New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Great Southern Bancorp hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $72.75 and recently around $71.32, extending a strong run for the stock.
• Recent earnings came in ahead of expectations, with quarterly EPS of $1.58 versus the $1.27 consensus and revenue slightly above estimates, while analysts still see a consensus “Buy” rating and a $65 average price target.
• The company continues to return cash to shareholders through a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, or $1.72 annually, for a yield of about 2.4%, though recent insider sales have been notable.

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $72.75 and last traded at $71.32, with a volume of 113238 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $70.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GSBC. Zacks Research raised shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Great Southern Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of 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, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Great Southern Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $65.00.

Great Southern Bancorp Stock Up 0.5%

The company has a market capitalization of $776.67 million, a P/E ratio of 11.30 and a beta of 0.50. 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $66.48 and its 200-day moving average is $63.60.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.31. Great Southern Bancorp had a net margin of 21.33% and a return on equity of 11.29%. The firm had revenue of $55.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.75 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.84 EPS for the current year.

Great Southern Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 30th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. Great Southern Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 27.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Great Southern Bancorp

In other Great Southern Bancorp news, 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 transaction of $195,888.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 14 shares of the company's stock, valued at $979.44. The trade was a 99.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP John M. Bugh sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.59, for a total transaction of $168,975.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,790 shares in the company, valued at $120,986.10. The trade was a 58.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,687 shares of company stock valued at $938,407. 29.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Great Southern Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in Great Southern Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,072,000. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in Great Southern Bancorp by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 130,884 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,057,000 after acquiring an additional 27,487 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Great Southern Bancorp by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 271,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,618,000 after acquiring an additional 24,131 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Great Southern Bancorp by 101.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,452 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 8,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank lifted its position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 4,149 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. 41.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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