What We Learned About Great Southern Bancorp's (NASDAQ:GSBC) CEO Pay

Joe Turner became the CEO of Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSBC) in 2000, and we think it's a good time to look at the executive's compensation against the backdrop of overall company performance. This analysis will also evaluate the appropriateness of CEO compensation when taking into account the earnings and shareholder returns of the company.

Check out our latest analysis for Great Southern Bancorp

How Does Total Compensation For Joe Turner Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

At the time of writing, our data shows that Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$666m, and reported total annual CEO compensation of US$1.6m for the year to December 2019. Notably, that's an increase of 38% over the year before. We think total compensation is more important but our data shows that the CEO salary is lower, at US$380k.

On examining similar-sized companies in the industry with market capitalizations between US$400m and US$1.6b, we discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was US$1.8m. This suggests that Great Southern Bancorp remunerates its CEO largely in line with the industry average. Moreover, Joe Turner also holds US$8.0m worth of Great Southern Bancorp stock directly under their own name, which reveals to us that they have a significant personal stake in the company.

Talking in terms of the industry, salary represented approximately 43% of total compensation out of all the companies we analyzed, while other remuneration made up 57% of the pie. Great Southern Bancorp pays a modest slice of remuneration through salary, as compared to the broader industry. If total compensation is slanted towards non-salary benefits, it indicates that CEO pay is linked to company performance.

A Look at Great Southern Bancorp, Inc.'s Growth Numbers

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc.'s earnings per share (EPS) grew 4.7% per year over the last three years. Its revenue is down 3.7% over the previous year.

We would prefer it if there was revenue growth, but the modest improvement in EPS is good. These two metrics are moving in different directions, so while it's hard to be confident judging performance, we think the stock is worth watching. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings..

Has Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. has generated a total shareholder return of 0.8% over three years, so most shareholders wouldn't be too disappointed. But they probably don't want to see the CEO paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.

To Conclude...

As we touched on above, Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. is currently paying a compensation that's close to the median pay for CEOs of companies belonging to the same industry and with similar market capitalizations. But the company has failed to produce substantial growth in either EPS or total shareholder return. So, although the CEO compensation seems reasonable, shareholders might want to see some further progress before they agree that Joe should get a raise.

We can learn a lot about a company by studying its CEO compensation trends, along with looking at other aspects of the business. We identified 2 warning signs for Great Southern Bancorp (1 is a bit unpleasant!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Important note: Great Southern Bancorp is an exciting stock, but we understand investors may be looking for an unencumbered balance sheet and blockbuster returns. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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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