Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Sees Large Volume Increase - Here's Why

Key Points

• Great Southern Bancorp’s trading activity increased significantly, with about 57,143 shares changing hands, while the stock traded near $78.26.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly neutral: the stock carries a consensus “Hold” rating and a $74 average price target, below its recent trading price. Recent downgrades included Wall Street Zen and Zacks Research.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.57 in earnings per share versus the $1.38 estimate and $56.87 million in revenue. It also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, representing a 2.2% annualized yield.

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 57,143 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 35% from the previous session's volume of 88,408 shares.The stock last traded at $78.26 and had previously closed at $78.67.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on GSBC shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Great Southern Bancorp from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research cut shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Great Southern Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Great Southern Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $855.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.83.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.19. The business 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 10.83%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Great Southern Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 29th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 29th. Great Southern Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Julie A. Brown sold 851 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $68,931.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,052 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $571,212. This represents a 10.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 29.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Great Southern Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 8.3% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $801,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Great Southern Bancorp by 4.8% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,138 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 68.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,641 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $755,000 after purchasing an additional 5,546 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp during the first quarter worth $1,146,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 1.9% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 13,580 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $798,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. 41.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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