Reviewing Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD (OTCMKTS:GOVB) & Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC)

Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD (OTCMKTS:GOVB) and Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, earnings, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD pays an annual dividend of $0.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Great Southern Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD pays out 26.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Great Southern Bancorp pays out 29.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Risk and Volatility

Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Great Southern Bancorp has a beta of 0.55, meaning that its share price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD and Great Southern Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD	6.59%	N/A	N/A
Great Southern Bancorp	19.80%	11.38%	1.17%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD and Great Southern Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD	0	0	0	0	0.00
Great Southern Bancorp	0	2	1	0	2.33

Great Southern Bancorp has a consensus price target of $59.50, indicating a potential upside of 6.10%. Given Great Southern Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Great Southern Bancorp is more favorable than Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD and Great Southern Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD	$9.34 million	1.57	$540,000.00	$0.61	22.95
Great Southern Bancorp	$355.26 million	1.79	$61.81 million	$5.87	9.55

Great Southern Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD. Great Southern Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

21.6% of Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.7% of Great Southern Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.1% of Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 27.9% of Great Southern Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Great Southern Bancorp beats Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD

Gouverneur Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Gouverneur Savings and Loan Association that provides various banking products and services to individuals and businesses in New York. It accepts passbook savings, NOW, money market deposit, and checking accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company's loan products include mortgage loans, one- to four-family residential loans, commercial real estate loans, and multi-family residential real estate loans, residential and commercial construction loans, commercial land loans, home equity loans, lines of credit, commercial loans, automobiles, motorcycles, campers, boats, and other recreational vehicles, as well as personal secured and unsecured loans. It also invests in municipal bonds, U.S. Treasury securities, U.S. Government agencies and government-sponsored obligations, and mortgage-backed securities. In addition, the company offers online, mobile, bill pay, and telephone banking; electronic or paper statements; and ATM, debit cards, direct deposits, mobile remote deposit capture, automatic payments and transfers, bank checks, wire transfers, and safe deposit box services. It serves primarily the St. Lawrence County, and Jefferson and Lewis counties in New York State. The company was founded in 1892 and is headquartered in Gouverneur, New York.

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. The company's loan portfolio comprises residential and commercial real estate loans, commercial business loans, construction loans, home improvement loans, and unsecured consumer loans, as well as secured consumer loans, such as automobile loans, boat loans, home equity loans, and loans secured by savings deposits. It also provides insurance and merchant banking services. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Springfield, Missouri.