Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Great Southern Bancorp (GSBC) from "hold" to "strong-buy," joining a consensus "Buy" rating and a consensus target price of $65.00.
• Q1 results beat expectations: EPS of $1.58 topped estimates of $1.27 and revenue was $55.36 million versus $54.75 million, with a net margin of 21.33% and ROE of 11.31%.
• Insiders have sold 17,180 shares (~$1.05M) in the past 90 days, though insiders still own 29.75% of the company and institutional investors hold 41.66%.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

GSBC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Great Southern Bancorp from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Great Southern Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Great Southern Bancorp has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.00.

Great Southern Bancorp Trading Down 0.3%

GSBC opened at $66.65 on Monday. The company's 50 day moving average is $63.66 and its 200-day moving average is $61.89. Great Southern Bancorp has a 1-year low of $50.95 and a 1-year high of $70.91. 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 $730.68 million, a P/E ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.46.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.31. Great Southern Bancorp had a net margin of 21.33% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The company had revenue of $55.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.75 million. Equities research analysts predict that Great Southern Bancorp will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Great Southern Bancorp

In related news, VP John M. Bugh sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president owned 1,790 shares in the company, valued at $120,986.10. This trade represents a 58.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Carlson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.89, for a total transaction of $119,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,989. This trade represents a 95.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 17,180 shares of company stock worth $1,054,351 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 29.75% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GSBC. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in Great Southern Bancorp by 177.7% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 48,227 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,954,000 after purchasing an additional 30,863 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in Great Southern Bancorp by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 130,884 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,057,000 after purchasing an additional 27,487 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Great Southern Bancorp by 328.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 32,321 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,980,000 after purchasing an additional 24,786 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Great Southern Bancorp by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 271,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,618,000 after purchasing an additional 24,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Great Southern Bancorp by 121.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 39,757 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,435,000 after purchasing an additional 21,806 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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