Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Boosts Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Price Target to $74.00

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Great Southern Bancorp’s price target from $72 to $74 while keeping a “market perform” rating, implying a modest downside from the stock’s current level.
• Great Southern Bancorp reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.57 topping estimates of $1.38 and revenue of $56.87 million exceeding forecasts.
• Despite the earnings beat, analyst sentiment remains mixed and recent insider activity has included multiple share sales, while institutional investors continue to hold a significant stake in the company.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $72.00 to $74.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "market perform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective points to a potential downside of 7.63% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on GSBC. Wall Street Zen lowered Great Southern Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research 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 report on Tuesday, June 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.00.

Great Southern Bancorp Price Performance

Great Southern Bancorp stock opened at $80.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $872.40 million, a P/E ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 0.49. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $74.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.39. Great Southern Bancorp has a 12-month low of $53.76 and a 12-month high of $82.40.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $56.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.26 million. Great Southern Bancorp had a net margin of 20.72% and a return on equity of 10.86%. Equities analysts expect that Great Southern Bancorp will post 5.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Kevin L. Baker sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total transaction of $195,888.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP John M. Bugh sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.59, for a total value of $168,975.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,790 shares in the company, valued at $120,986.10. This represents a 58.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,687 shares of company stock worth $938,407. Company insiders own 29.75% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Great Southern Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in Great Southern Bancorp by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 130,884 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,057,000 after acquiring an additional 27,487 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,072,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Great Southern Bancorp by 101.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,452 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 8,287 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Great Southern Bancorp by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 15,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $980,000 after buying an additional 608 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 62.3% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 16,726 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 6,420 shares during the last quarter. 41.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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