Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC) Short Interest Down 13.1% in December

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 134,500 shares, a decrease of 13.1% from the December 15th total of 154,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 28,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Mark A. Maples sold 2,074 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.19, for a total transaction of $139,352.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Joseph W. Turner sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.63, for a total value of $399,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,153,762.66. This trade represents a 4.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 19,174 shares of company stock valued at $1,235,009. 27.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Great Southern Bancorp by 2.3% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $662,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 0.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 71,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,072,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 1.0% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 33,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,875,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $611,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. 41.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Great Southern Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Great Southern Bancorp stock traded up $0.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $60.42. 22,009 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 29,381. The company has a market cap of $705.40 million, a PE ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $62.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.51. Great Southern Bancorp has a twelve month low of $48.19 and a twelve month high of $68.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.15. Great Southern Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 17.21%. The company had revenue of $90.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Great Southern Bancorp will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Great Southern Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. Great Southern Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Piper Sandler cut their target price on Great Southern Bancorp from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th.

About Great Southern Bancorp

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc operates as a bank holding company for Great Southern Bank that provides a range of financial services in the United States. Its deposit products include regular savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, fixed interest rate certificates with varying maturities, certificates of deposit, brokered certificates, and individual retirement accounts.