Short Interest in Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC) Declines By 13.1%

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC) was the target of a large drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 134,500 shares, a drop of 13.1% from the December 15th total of 154,700 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 28,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days.

Great Southern Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GSBC traded up $0.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $60.42. 22,009 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 29,381. The company has a market cap of $705.40 million, a PE ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $62.12 and a 200 day moving average of $59.51. Great Southern Bancorp has a 52-week low of $48.19 and a 52-week high of $68.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.15. Great Southern Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 17.21%. The firm had revenue of $90.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Great Southern Bancorp will post 5.3 EPS for the current year.

Great Southern Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. Great Southern Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.37%.

Insider Activity at Great Southern Bancorp

In other Great Southern Bancorp news, CEO Joseph W. Turner sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.63, for a total value of $399,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,153,762.66. This represents a 4.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark A. Maples sold 2,074 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.19, for a total transaction of $139,352.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,174 shares of company stock valued at $1,235,009. 27.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Great Southern Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GSBC. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Great Southern Bancorp by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 173,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,660,000 after acquiring an additional 23,401 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in Great Southern Bancorp by 219.1% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 24,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,425,000 after buying an additional 17,070 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Great Southern Bancorp by 30.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 58,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,359,000 after buying an additional 13,799 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Great Southern Bancorp by 98.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 18,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,076,000 after purchasing an additional 9,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in Great Southern Bancorp by 136.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 15,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $889,000 after purchasing an additional 8,954 shares during the period. 41.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Great Southern Bancorp from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th.

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.