Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Analyst Says

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target on Great Southern Bancorp from $63 to $65 while maintaining a "market perform" rating, a target that implies roughly a 2.8% downside from the prior close; Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" and the consensus remains a "Hold" with an average target of $61.50.
• Great Southern Bancorp beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $1.58 vs. $1.27 expected and revenue of $55.36M vs. $54.75M, trading at a P/E of 10.6 and a market cap of about $733M; analysts forecast roughly 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Company insiders sold a total of 14,680 shares (~$885K) over the past 90 days—though insiders still own 29.75% of the stock—and institutional investors hold about 41.66% of shares outstanding.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $63.00 to $65.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "market perform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price target would indicate a potential downside of 2.83% from the company's previous close.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Great Southern Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $61.50.

Great Southern Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of GSBC opened at $66.89 on Friday. 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 $733.11 million, a P/E ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50-day moving average of $63.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.74. Great Southern Bancorp has a 12-month low of $50.95 and a 12-month high of $69.38.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $55.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $54.75 million. Great Southern Bancorp had a net margin of 21.33% and a return on equity of 11.31%. As a group, research analysts predict that Great Southern Bancorp will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Great Southern Bancorp news, Director William V. Turner sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Carlson sold 680 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.17, for a total transaction of $42,955.60. Following the sale, the director owned 17,206 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,086,903.02. This represents a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 14,680 shares of company stock worth $885,376 over the last ninety days. 29.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 44,906 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,764,000 after purchasing an additional 8,149 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $246,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 47,906 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,949,000 after purchasing an additional 8,149 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 15,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $980,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the period. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP boosted its stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 26,857 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,653,000 after purchasing an additional 10,963 shares during the period. 41.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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