Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Sets New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Great Southern Bancorp shares hit a new 52-week high, reaching $82.91 and recently trading around $82.00, up 1.7%. The stock’s consensus analyst rating remains “Hold,” with a target price of $74, below its current level.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.57 in EPS versus the $1.38 consensus estimate and revenue of $56.87 million compared with expectations of $55.26 million.
• Great Southern Bancorp pays a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, equivalent to a $1.72 annualized payout and 2.1% yield. Insiders own 29.75% of the company, while institutional investors hold 41.66%.

Shares of Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $82.91 and last traded at $82.00, with a volume of 60737 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on GSBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Great Southern Bancorp from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Great Southern Bancorp Trading Up 1.7%

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 company has a market cap of $889.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.56 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $76.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.73.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.19. Great Southern Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.86% and a net margin of 20.72%.The business had revenue of $56.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.26 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Great Southern Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 29th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Great Southern Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Great Southern Bancorp

In other Great Southern Bancorp news, VP Kevin L. Baker sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total transaction of $195,888.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 14 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $979.44. This represents a 99.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 29.75% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Great Southern Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Great Southern Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $867,000. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 130,884 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,057,000 after purchasing an additional 27,487 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,072,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 101.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,452 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,008,000 after purchasing an additional 8,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inceptionr LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $488,000. 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.