Kevin Baker Sells 2,800 Shares of Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Stock

Key Points

• Kevin Baker, a vice president, sold 2,800 shares of Great Southern Bancorp on May 6 at an average price of $69.96 for about $195,888, leaving him with 14 shares—a 99.50% decrease in his direct ownership.
• Great Southern beat expectations for the quarter with $1.58 EPS vs. $1.27 expected and $55.36M revenue, and it pays a $0.43 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.72, ~2.5% yield, 27.3% payout ratio).
• The stock traded near $70.10 on above-average volume (152,826 vs. avg 76,588), has a market cap of about $768M and a PE of 11.11, and carries a consensus analyst rating of Buy with an average target of $65.00.

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) VP Kevin Baker sold 2,800 shares of Great Southern Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $195,888.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 14 shares of the company's stock, valued at $979.44. This represents a 99.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Great Southern Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ GSBC traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $70.10. The company had a trading volume of 152,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 76,588. The company has a market capitalization of $768.30 million, a PE ratio of 11.11 and a beta of 0.50. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $64.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.26. Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.76 and a twelve month high of $70.91.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $55.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $54.75 million. Great Southern Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 21.33%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Great Southern Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 30th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Great Southern Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 27.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on GSBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Zacks Research raised Great Southern Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Great Southern Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Great Southern Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $65.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Great Southern Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $867,000. Fifth Third Bancorp acquired a new position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $243,000. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 8,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 44,906 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,764,000 after buying an additional 8,149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $246,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.66% of the company's stock.

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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