Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.31 EPS

Key Points

• EPS beat: Great Southern Bancorp reported EPS of $1.58, beating the consensus by $0.31, with revenue of $55.36M (slightly above estimates) and profitability metrics including a 11.33% ROE and 20.7% net margin.
• Dividend and valuation: The company paid a $0.43 quarterly dividend ($1.72 annual, 2.5% yield, 27.74% payout ratio); market cap is about $740.7M with a P/E of 10.9 and shares trading near their 52-week high (~$67.6).
• Insider and analyst signals: Insiders sold 14,680 shares (~$885k) in the last 90 days though they still own 29.75% of the stock, and analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating with a $60.50 price target.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.31, Zacks reports. Great Southern Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.33% and a net margin of 20.70%.The firm had revenue of $55.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $54.75 million.

Great Southern Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GSBC opened at $67.58 on Thursday. Great Southern Bancorp has a 52 week low of $50.95 and a 52 week high of $68.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $63.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.71. The company has a market cap of $740.68 million, a P/E ratio of 10.90 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Great Southern Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 30th were given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 30th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Great Southern Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Great Southern Bancorp from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Great Southern Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $60.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William V. Turner sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.70, for a total transaction of $358,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 199,112 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,886,986.40. This represents a 2.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Carlson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.89, for a total value of $119,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,989. This represents a 95.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,680 shares of company stock worth $885,376. Company insiders own 29.75% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Great Southern Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GSBC. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 10,857 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $595,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Great Southern Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $561,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Great Southern Bancorp by 51.1% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $541,000 after buying an additional 2,986 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Great Southern Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $524,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.