Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 60,214 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 31% from the previous session’s volume of 46,112 shares.The stock last traded at $62.42 and had previously closed at $62.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on GSBC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Great Southern Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Great Southern Bancorp from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Great Southern Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.50.

Great Southern Bancorp Stock Down 0.9%

The company has a market cap of $713.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $58.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.72 million. Great Southern Bancorp had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 11.28%. As a group, analysts predict that Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Great Southern Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Monday, December 29th. Great Southern Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Mark A. Maples sold 1,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.93, for a total transaction of $86,898.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP John M. Bugh sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.72, for a total value of $101,010.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,790 shares in the company, valued at $103,318.80. This trade represents a 49.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 27.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Great Southern Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GSBC. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 9.8% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 271,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,618,000 after purchasing an additional 24,131 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Great Southern Bancorp by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 51,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,134,000 after buying an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 177.7% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 48,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,954,000 after buying an additional 30,863 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 42,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,590,000 after acquiring an additional 7,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 121.5% in the third quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 39,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,435,000 after acquiring an additional 21,806 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.66% of the company’s stock.

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.