Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $70.93 and last traded at $70.9450, with a volume of 61553 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GSBC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Great Southern Bancorp from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Great Southern Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Great Southern Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Great Southern Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.00.

Great Southern Bancorp Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $66.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $772.43 million, a PE ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 0.50.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $55.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.75 million. Great Southern Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.29% and a net margin of 21.33%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Great Southern Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 30th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 30th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Great Southern Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Great Southern Bancorp

In related news, VP Kevin L. Baker sold 2,800 shares of Great Southern Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $195,888.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 14 shares in the company, valued at approximately $979.44. The trade was a 99.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joseph W. Turner sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.16, for a total value of $408,960.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 136,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,282,165.12. This represents a 4.22% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,687 shares of company stock worth $938,407. 29.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Great Southern Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in 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 valued at $16,618,000 after buying an additional 24,131 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 130,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,057,000 after buying an additional 27,487 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 1.5% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 51,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,134,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted 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 valued at $2,954,000 after acquiring an additional 30,863 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Great Southern Bancorp by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 47,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,949,000 after acquiring an additional 8,149 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.