Investors more bullish on Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) this week as stock increases 9.9%, despite earnings trending downwards over past year

There's no doubt that investing in the stock market is a truly brilliant way to build wealth. But if when you choose to buy stocks, some of them will be below average performers. For example, the Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC), share price is up over the last year, but its gain of 26% trails the market return. However, the stock hasn't done so well in the longer term, with the stock only up 13% in three years.

Since it's been a strong week for Great Southern Bancorp shareholders, let's have a look at trend of the longer term fundamentals.

See our latest analysis for Great Southern Bancorp

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

During the last year, Great Southern Bancorp actually saw its earnings per share drop 23%.

This means it's unlikely the market is judging the company based on earnings growth. Since the change in EPS doesn't seem to correlate with the change in share price, it's worth taking a look at other metrics.

Unfortunately Great Southern Bancorp's fell 6.1% over twelve months. So using a snapshot of key business metrics doesn't give us a good picture of why the market is bidding up the stock.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. But while CEO remuneration is always worth checking, the really important question is whether the company can grow earnings going forward. You can see what analysts are predicting for Great Southern Bancorp in this interactive graph of future profit estimates.

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. We note that for Great Southern Bancorp the TSR over the last 1 year was 29%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

Great Southern Bancorp provided a TSR of 29% over the last twelve months. Unfortunately this falls short of the market return. The silver lining is that the gain was actually better than the average annual return of 5% per year over five year. This suggests the company might be improving over time. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Great Southern Bancorp better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that Great Southern Bancorp is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those doesn't sit too well with us...

We will like Great Southern Bancorp better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued stocks (mostly small caps) with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.