Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $70.93 and last traded at $70.9450, with a volume of 61553 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GSBC has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Great Southern Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of 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 shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.00.

Great Southern Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $65.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.19. The stock has a market cap of $774.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.50.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 21.33% and a return on equity of 11.29%. On average, analysts expect that Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Great Southern Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 30th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. Great Southern Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 27.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Mark A. Maples sold 2,387 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total value of $164,583.65. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,843.65. The trade was a 66.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joseph W. Turner sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.16, for a total value of $408,960.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 136,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,282,165.12. This represents a 4.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,687 shares of company stock valued at $938,407. Insiders own 29.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GSBC. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in Great Southern Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Great Southern Bancorp by 1,301.8% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in Great Southern Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $77,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Great Southern Bancorp by 24.8% during 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 period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $128,000. 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.