Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC) has caught the attention of institutional investors who hold a sizeable 44% stake
Key Insights
Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Great Southern Bancorp's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
The top 13 shareholders own 51% of the company
To get a sense of who is truly in control of Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 44% to be precise, is institutions. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
Given the vast amount of money and research capacities at their disposal, institutional ownership tends to carry a lot of weight, especially with individual investors. Therefore, a good portion of institutional money invested in the company is usually a huge vote of confidence on its future.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Great Southern Bancorp.
View our latest analysis for Great Southern Bancorp
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Great Southern Bancorp?
Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Great Southern Bancorp. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Great Southern Bancorp, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Great Southern Bancorp. Thomas Turner is currently the company's largest shareholder with 13% of shares outstanding. With 7.7% and 6.7% of the shares outstanding respectively, Earl Steinert and BlackRock, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders. In addition, we found that Joseph Turner, the CEO has 1.4% of the shares allocated to their name.
After doing some more digging, we found that the top 13 have the combined ownership of 51% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.
While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.
Insider Ownership Of Great Southern Bancorp
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.
Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Great Southern Bancorp, Inc.. Insiders own US$157m worth of shares in the US$612m company. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.
General Public Ownership
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 31% stake in Great Southern Bancorp. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Great Southern Bancorp better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Great Southern Bancorp that you should be aware of.
Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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