Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Stock Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• GSBC shares rose above their 200-day moving average, reaching $77.90 and last trading at $77.50 versus the $74.72 long-term average.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Great Southern Bancorp has an average “Hold” rating and a $74 consensus price target, despite one Buy rating and recent target-price increases.
• The company beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.57 EPS versus $1.38 expected, and declared a $0.43 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 2.2% yield.

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $74.72 and traded as high as $77.90. Great Southern Bancorp shares last traded at $77.50, with a volume of 50,588 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GSBC. 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. Weiss Ratings raised Great Southern Bancorp from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Great Southern Bancorp from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Great Southern Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Great Southern Bancorp Price Performance

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $79.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.72. The firm has a market cap of $844.60 million, a P/E ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.19. Great Southern Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.83% and a net margin of 20.72%. The business had revenue of $56.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.26 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Great Southern Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 28th. Great Southern Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Great Southern Bancorp news, Director Julie 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 transaction of $68,931.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,052 shares in the company, valued at $571,212. This represents a 10.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 29.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Great Southern Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GSBC. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Great Southern Bancorp by 24.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,309 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Great Southern Bancorp in the second quarter worth $216,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in Great Southern Bancorp in the second quarter worth $229,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp purchased a new position in Great Southern Bancorp during the first quarter worth $243,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.66% of the company's stock.

Great Southern Bancorp Company Profile

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc is the bank holding company for Great Southern Bank, a full-service financial institution headquartered in Springfield, Missouri. Through its banking subsidiary, the company provides deposit accounts, lending products and other financial services to individuals, families, businesses and commercial real estate customers.

Great Southern Bank offers checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer loans, residential real estate loans, commercial and industrial financing, commercial real estate loans, construction loans and agricultural lending.

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