Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 137,463 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 153% from the previous session’s volume of 54,278 shares.The stock last traded at $64.56 and had previously closed at $66.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Great Southern Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $703.40 million, a P/E ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.12.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.01. The firm 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Great Southern Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 29th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 29th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Great Southern Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Great Southern Bancorp news, VP John M. Bugh sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.72, for a total transaction of $101,010.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 1,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,318.80. This represents a 49.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark A. Maples sold 1,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.93, for a total transaction of $86,898.50. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 27.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Great Southern Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GSBC. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in Great Southern Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,072,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 10,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $665,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $392,000. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in Great Southern Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $470,000. Finally, Dean Capital Management lifted its position in Great Southern Bancorp by 17.7% during the third quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 37,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,284,000 after purchasing an additional 5,614 shares in the last quarter. 41.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.