Empowered Funds LLC Makes New $4.24 Million Investment in Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. $GSBC

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 54,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,237,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GSBC. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Great Southern Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in Great Southern Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Great Southern Bancorp by 24.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Great Southern Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $128,000. Institutional investors own 41.66% of the company’s stock.

Great Southern Bancorp Stock Down 0.8%

GSBC stock opened at $78.27 on Tuesday. Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.76 and a 52-week high of $82.91. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $853.14 million, a P/E ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 0.49.

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.19. Great Southern Bancorp had a net margin of 20.72% and a return on equity of 10.83%. The firm had revenue of $56.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.26 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Great Southern Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 29th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 29th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Great Southern Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on GSBC. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Great Southern Bancorp from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Great Southern Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research lowered Great Southern Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Great Southern Bancorp from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Julie A. Brown sold 851 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $68,931.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $571,212. This represents a 10.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 29.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Great Southern Bancorp

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.