Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC) shares saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Great Southern Bancorp Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $855.60 million, a PE ratio of 13.04 and a beta of 0.49. 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’s fifty day moving average is $78.74 and its 200 day moving average is $70.83.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.19. Great Southern Bancorp had a net margin of 20.72% and a return on equity of 10.83%. The company had revenue of $56.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.26 million. As a group, sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 29th. Great Southern Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 28.57%.

Insider Transactions at Great Southern Bancorp

In related news, Director Julie A. Brown sold 851 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,052 shares in the company, valued at approximately $571,212. This represents a 10.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 29.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Great Southern Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GSBC. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 68.5% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp during the first quarter worth $1,146,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.66% of the company’s stock.

About Great Southern Bancorp

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.