Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC) Short Interest Down 15.2% in April

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 304,946 shares, a decline of 15.2% from the March 31st total of 359,690 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 70,499 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days. Approximately 4.0% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Activity at Great Southern Bancorp

In related news, Director Thomas J. Carlson sold 680 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.17, for a total transaction of $42,955.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,206 shares in the company, valued at $1,086,903.02. The trade was a 3.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joseph W. Turner sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.16, for a total value of $408,960.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 136,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,282,165.12. The trade was a 4.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 9,180 shares of company stock worth $620,891 in the last quarter. 29.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 1,301.8% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors bought a new position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $77,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $128,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 224.7% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,930 shares in the last quarter. 41.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Great Southern Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of GSBC stock opened at $68.87 on Friday. Great Southern Bancorp has a twelve month low of $53.60 and a twelve month high of $70.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $754.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $55.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.75 million. Great Southern Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 21.33%. On average, analysts predict that Great Southern Bancorp will post 5.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Great Southern Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 30th were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. Great Southern Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 27.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GSBC shares. Zacks Research upgraded Great Southern Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Great Southern Bancorp from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Great Southern Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Great Southern Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.00.

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.