Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Sets New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• New 52‑week high: Great Southern Bancorp reached an intraday high of $67.75 and was last trading around $67.53, remaining above its 50‑ and 200‑day moving averages.
• Earnings beat: Q4 EPS of $1.45 topped estimates of $1.38 and revenue was $56.35M versus $55.03M, with a 20.7% net margin and 11.33% ROE.
• Mixed outlook and shareholder actions: Analysts' consensus is a "Hold" with a $60.50 target (below the current price), the board declared a $0.43 quarterly dividend (2.6% yield), and insiders have recently sold shares.

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $67.75 and last traded at $67.53, with a volume of 16628 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $67.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GSBC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Great Southern Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Great Southern Bancorp from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.50.

Great Southern Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business's 50-day moving average is $62.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.52. The company has a market capitalization of $738.22 million, a P/E ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 0.46.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.07. Great Southern Bancorp had a net margin of 20.70% and a return on equity of 11.33%. The company had revenue of $56.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.03 million. As a group, analysts predict that Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Great Southern Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 30th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 30th. Great Southern Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.74%.

Insider Activity at Great Southern Bancorp

In related news, Director Thomas J. Carlson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's 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 $5,989. This trade represents a 95.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director William V. Turner sold 6,000 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the director directly owned 199,112 shares in the company, valued at $11,886,986.40. The trade was a 2.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 14,680 shares of company stock valued at $885,376 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 27.93% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Great Southern Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GSBC. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in Great Southern Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Great Southern Bancorp by 1,301.8% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 771 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in Great Southern Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $77,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Great Southern Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $128,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in Great Southern Bancorp by 224.7% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,789 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 1,930 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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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