Short Interest in Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC) Grows By 19.9%

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 250,020 shares, an increase of 19.9% from the January 15th total of 208,570 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 71,229 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days. Approximately 3.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Approximately 3.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 71,229 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Insider Activity at Great Southern Bancorp

In other news, Director William V. Turner sold 6,000 shares of Great Southern Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.70, for a total transaction of $358,200.00. Following the sale, the director owned 199,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,886,986.40. The trade was a 2.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Joseph W. Turner sold 6,000 shares of Great Southern Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.74, for a total value of $364,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 137,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,344,582.68. This trade represents a 4.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,130 shares of company stock worth $972,274. Insiders own 27.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Great Southern Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GSBC. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its holdings in Great Southern Bancorp by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 26,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,653,000 after buying an additional 10,963 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Great Southern Bancorp by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Great Southern Bancorp by 59.4% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Great Southern Bancorp by 40.6% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 17,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 5,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Great Southern Bancorp by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 11,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $700,000 after purchasing an additional 2,877 shares during the last quarter. 41.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on GSBC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Great Southern Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Great Southern Bancorp from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Great Southern Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.50.

Great Southern Bancorp Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Great Southern Bancorp stock traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $64.33. 46,502 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 61,448. Great Southern Bancorp has a twelve month low of $47.57 and a twelve month high of $67.70. The company has a market cap of $719.79 million, a PE ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 0.52. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.11.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.07. Great Southern Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 20.70%.The firm had revenue of $56.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.03 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Great Southern Bancorp will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Great Southern Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 29th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 29th. Great Southern Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 27.74%.

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.