Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Trading: Approximately 59,188 shares changed hands on Tuesday and the stock last traded at $68.58 (about a 17% decline from the prior session's 70,968 shares).
• Analyst sentiment: GSBC has an average rating of "Buy" with an average price target of $65, including a Zacks upgrade to "strong-buy" and KBW raising its target to $65.
• Financials & dividend: Great Southern beat Q1 EPS estimates ($1.58 vs. $1.27) with $55.36M revenue, pays a $0.43 quarterly dividend (2.5% yield), and trades at a PE of 10.94.

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 59,188 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 17% from the previous session's volume of 70,968 shares.The stock last traded at $68.58 and had previously closed at $67.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GSBC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Great Southern Bancorp from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Great Southern Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $65.00.

Great Southern Bancorp Price Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.05. 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 stock has a market cap of $756.78 million, a PE ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 0.46.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. 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 return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 21.33%.The firm had revenue of $55.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.75 million. Research analysts forecast that Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Great Southern Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 30th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 30th. Great Southern Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.26%.

Insider Activity at Great Southern Bancorp

In related news, Director William V. Turner sold 6,000 shares of Great Southern Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were 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 $11,886,986.40. This trade represents a 2.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Carlson sold 2,000 shares of Great Southern Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.89, for a total transaction of $119,780.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,989. This trade represents a 95.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 11,180 shares of company stock valued at $689,911 in the last three months. Company insiders own 29.75% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Great Southern Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 1,301.8% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 771 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $77,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $128,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in Great Southern Bancorp by 224.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,789 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,930 shares during the last quarter. 41.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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