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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GSBC shares. Zacks Research raised Great Southern Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective 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 restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Great Southern Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Joseph W. Turner sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.16, for a total transaction of $408,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 136,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,282,165.12. This trade represents a 4.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP John M. Bugh sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.59, for a total value of $168,975.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $120,986.10. This represents a 58.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,180 shares of company stock valued at $620,891. Insiders own 29.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp purchased a new position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $243,000. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 8,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 44,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,764,000 after acquiring an additional 8,149 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $246,000. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 20.5% in the 4th 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 during the period. 41.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Great Southern Bancorp Trading Up 1.0%

GSBC traded up $0.65 during trading on Friday, hitting $68.87. 94,234 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 92,938. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.20. The firm has a market cap of $754.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 0.50. Great Southern Bancorp has a 1 year low of $53.60 and a 1 year high of $70.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.31. Great Southern Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 21.33%.The company had revenue of $55.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.75 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Great Southern Bancorp will post 5.84 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 30th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Great Southern Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.26%.

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.