Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Analyst Says

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) had its target price hoisted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $72.00 to $74.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price points to a potential downside of 5.43% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on GSBC. Zacks Research lowered shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Great Southern Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Great Southern Bancorp Stock Performance

Great Southern Bancorp stock opened at $78.25 on Friday. Great Southern Bancorp has a 1-year low of $53.76 and a 1-year high of $82.40. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $852.14 million, a PE ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.46.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $56.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.26 million. Great Southern Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.86% and a net margin of 20.72%. As a group, analysts expect that Great Southern Bancorp will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Great Southern Bancorp

In related news, VP Mark A. Maples sold 2,387 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total transaction of $164,583.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,843.65. This represents a 66.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Kevin L. Baker sold 2,800 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 14 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $979.44. The trade was a 99.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,687 shares of company stock valued at $938,407. 29.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Great Southern Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 177.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 48,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,954,000 after buying an additional 30,863 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 130,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,057,000 after buying an additional 27,487 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 328.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 32,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,980,000 after acquiring an additional 24,786 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 121.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 39,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,435,000 after acquiring an additional 21,806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Great Southern Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $1,146,000. 41.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.