Zacks Research Upgrades Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) to “Hold”

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on GSBC. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Great Southern Bancorp in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Great Southern Bancorp from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Great Southern Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.50.

Great Southern Bancorp Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Great Southern Bancorp stock opened at $65.67 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $734.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 0.53. Great Southern Bancorp has a twelve month low of $47.57 and a twelve month high of $66.46. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.86.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $58.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.72 million. Great Southern Bancorp had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 11.28%. Equities research analysts forecast that Great Southern Bancorp will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Great Southern Bancorp news, VP Mark A. Maples sold 1,450 shares of Great Southern Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.93, for a total value of $86,898.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP John M. Bugh sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.72, for a total value of $101,010.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 1,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $103,318.80. This trade represents a 49.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 27.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Great Southern Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its position in Great Southern Bancorp by 69.2% during the 1st quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 106,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,880,000 after purchasing an additional 43,430 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 177.7% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 48,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,954,000 after purchasing an additional 30,863 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Great Southern Bancorp by 328.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 32,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,980,000 after purchasing an additional 24,786 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 9.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 21,806 shares during the last quarter. 41.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.