Guaranty board approves stock-repurchase plan

The board of directors for Springfield-based Guaranty Federal, the holding company for Guaranty Bank, has approved a plan to purchase up to 350,000 shares of common stock. The board authorized a similar plan in July 2006 that allowed 250,000 shares to be repurchased; to date, 246,744 shares have been bought.

“We continue to believe that the purchase of our common stock at the current price presents an opportunity to benefit the long-term interests of Guaranty Bank and its shareholders,” President and CEO Shaun Burke said in a news release.

Burke added that the repurchase plan is part of an overall strategic initiative that also has Guaranty opening up to five full-service banks in three to five years, to the tune of about $5 million.

The first of those new locations will be on West State Highway J in Ozark, set to open by the end of the year. Another is slated to open in first-quarter 2008 at State Highway CC and Main Street in Nixa.

Guaranty currently has eight banks and three loan production offices in southwest Missouri. Shares (Nasdaq: GFED) closed Monday at $29.50, compared to a 52-week range of $27.56 to $30.85.