Critical Comparison: NASB Financial (OTCMKTS:NASB) and Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC)

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) and NASB Financial (OTCMKTS:NASB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, risk, dividends and earnings.

Risk and Volatility

Great Southern Bancorp has a beta of 0.52, suggesting that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NASB Financial has a beta of 0.05, suggesting that its share price is 95% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Great Southern Bancorp and NASB Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Great Southern Bancorp	$342.78 million	2.04	$70.97 million	$6.20	10.07
NASB Financial	$178.01 million	1.55	$28.72 million	$3.98	9.61

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

41.7% of Great Southern Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 27.9% of Great Southern Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 47.0% of NASB Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Great Southern Bancorp and NASB Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Great Southern Bancorp	0	3	1	0	2.25
NASB Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00

Great Southern Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $60.50, suggesting a potential downside of 3.06%. Given Great Southern Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Great Southern Bancorp is more favorable than NASB Financial.

Dividends

Great Southern Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. NASB Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Great Southern Bancorp pays out 27.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. NASB Financial pays out 35.2% 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.

Profitability

This table compares Great Southern Bancorp and NASB Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Great Southern Bancorp	20.70%	11.40%	1.21%
NASB Financial	16.14%	6.80%	0.97%

Summary

Great Southern Bancorp beats NASB Financial on 14 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About NASB Financial

NASB Financial, Inc. operates as a unitary thrift holding company for North American Savings Bank, F.S.B. that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company offers checking, savings, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts. It also mortgages and refinancing products, including conventional, veterans administration, federal housing administration, jumbo, and IRA residential real-estate loans. In addition, the company provides commercial real estate development and commercial loans, such as multifamily, retail, single-tenant, multi-tenant, office, industrial, and other loans; investment property loans; and construction and development loans. The company was founded in 1927 and is based in Grandview, Missouri.