Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Buys 1,935 Shares of Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. $GSBC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC) by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,935 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Great Southern Bancorp worth $645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of GSBC. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Great Southern Bancorp by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 228,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,650,000 after purchasing an additional 20,248 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $457,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,171,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 69.2% during the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 106,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,880,000 after acquiring an additional 43,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Great Southern Bancorp by 179.1% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 7,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 4,525 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP John M. Bugh sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president owned 1,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,318.80. This trade represents a 49.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 27.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on GSBC. Weiss Ratings upgraded Great Southern Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Great Southern Bancorp from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Great Southern Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.50.

Great Southern Bancorp Stock Performance

GSBC stock opened at $58.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.57 and a 1 year high of $66.98. The company has a market cap of $654.33 million, a P/E ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $59.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.15.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Great Southern Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 19.80%.The company had revenue of $58.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.72 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Great Southern Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 29th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Great Southern Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 29th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Great Southern Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.57%.

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.