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

Key Points

• Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) hit a new 52-week high of $76.24, continuing a strong run in the stock. It last traded at $75.39, up from the prior close of $74.48.
• Recent analyst moves were mixed, but the overall tone remains positive with a Buy consensus and an average price target of $65.00. Zacks upgraded the stock to Strong Buy, while Wall Street Zen downgraded it to Sell.
• The company posted solid quarterly results, with EPS of $1.58 beating estimates of $1.27 and revenue slightly above expectations. Great Southern Bancorp also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, yielding about 2.3%.

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $76.24 and last traded at $75.39, with a volume of 95235 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $74.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Great Southern Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Great Southern Bancorp from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Great Southern Bancorp from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Great Southern Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.00.

Great Southern Bancorp Stock Performance

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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $821.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 0.50.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 11.29% and a net margin of 21.33%.The firm had revenue of $55.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.75 million. Analysts forecast that Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Great Southern Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 30th. Great Southern Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Great Southern Bancorp news, CEO Joseph W. Turner sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.16, for a total transaction of $408,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 136,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,282,165.12. This trade represents a 4.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Mark A. Maples sold 2,387 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total value of $164,583.65. Following the sale, the vice president owned 1,187 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $81,843.65. The trade was a 66.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,687 shares of company stock valued at $938,407. 29.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Great Southern Bancorp

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 27,727 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,750,000 after buying an additional 3,369 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Great Southern Bancorp by 24.8% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Great Southern Bancorp by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 47,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,009,000 after buying an additional 2,764 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in Great Southern Bancorp by 50.3% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 27,486 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,735,000 after buying an additional 9,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Great Southern Bancorp by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 16,231 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,025,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. 41.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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