Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - What's Next?

Key Points

• Great Southern Bancorp saw unusually high trading volume, with about 65,761 shares changing hands, while the stock last traded near $77.82.
• Analysts were mixed on the stock: recent actions included upgrades and downgrades, but the overall consensus remains Hold with an average target price of $65.00.
• The company beat quarterly earnings expectations, reported a $1.58 EPS versus the $1.27 estimate, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, yielding about 2.2%.

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 65,761 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the previous session's volume of 82,777 shares.The stock last traded at $77.8150 and had previously closed at $77.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Great Southern Bancorp from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.00.

Great Southern Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $73.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.96. The company has a market capitalization of $843.38 million, a P/E ratio of 12.22 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Great Southern Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP John M. Bugh sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.59, for a total value of $168,975.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Joseph W. Turner sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.16, for a total transaction of $408,960.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 136,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,282,165.12. The trade was a 4.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 13,687 shares of company stock worth $938,407 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 29.75% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Great Southern Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Great Southern Bancorp by 1,301.8% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 771 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $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 $77,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 24.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,309 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Great Southern Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $128,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Great Southern Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $203,000. Institutional investors own 41.66% of the company's stock.

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.