Great Southern VP buys, sells thousands of shares

Great Southern Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq: GSBC) Senior Vice President and Chief Lending Officer Steven Mitchem yesterday executed his contractual right to purchase stock under the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Code M rule.

Matt Snyder, the company’s vice president of human resources, said Mitchem exercised options to acquire 4,200 shares at set rates of $19.53-$32.59 ahead of preset expiration dates. The investment equated to $111,909. He then sold the shares at market value for $178,313, netting a profit of $66,404, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Last week, Great Southern board Chairman William Turner sold 3,620 shares at $41.35 apiece, or $149,681, according to a Nov. 3 SEC filing.

Both investments followed Great Southern’s award last month of tens of thousands of stock options to board members and officers.

In the third quarter, Great Southern reported net income available to common shareholders of $11.2 million, a 1.5 percent increase compared with $11.1 million a year earlier.

GSBC shares were trading at $45.55 as of 10:57 a.m., compared with a 52-week range of $34.48 to $52.94.