SPRINGFIELD, Mo., Aug. 20, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Guaranty Federal Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq:GFED), the holding company for Guaranty Bank, announced that its Board of Directors has approved a new common stock repurchase program. The program calls for the repurchase of up to 350,000 shares of its common stock, representing approximately 12.5% of outstanding shares. The Board had previously authorized a repurchase program of 250,000 shares on July 25, 2006, which is substantially complete. To date, 246,744 shares have been repurchased.
Shaun Burke, President and CEO of Guaranty Federal Bancshares, Inc. and Guaranty Bank, stated "We are pleased to announce that our Board has authorized an additional stock repurchase program. It is a reflection of our Board's confidence in Guaranty Bank's financial strength and our overall commitment to our shareholders. 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."
Burke continued, commenting on the Company's recent announcement of adding two new Christian County, Missouri branch locations, "This repurchase plan, like our location expansion plan, is one of a number of strategic initiatives that will enable us to better service our customers, grow our market share, and enhance shareholder value." Guaranty Bank announced in July that it plans to open up to 5 full-service banking facilities in the marketplace in the next 3 to 5 years.
The new program will allow the Company to repurchase its shares as opportunities arise at prevailing market prices in the open market or in unsolicited privately negotiated transactions. The extent to which the company repurchases its shares and the timing of such repurchases will depend upon market conditions and other corporate considerations.
About Guaranty Federal Bancshares, Inc.
Guaranty Federal Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq:GFED) has a subsidiary corporation offering full banking services. The principal subsidiary, Guaranty Bank, is headquartered in Springfield, Missouri, and has eight full-service branches in Greene and Christian Counties and Loan Production Offices in Wright, Webster and Howell Counties. In addition, Guaranty Bank is a member of the TransFund ATM network which provides its customers surcharge free access to over 80 area ATMs and over 700 ATM's nationwide. For more information visit the Guaranty Bank website: www.gbankmo.com.
The discussion set forth above may contain forward-looking comments. Such comments are based upon the information currently available to management of the Company and management's perception thereof as of the date of this release. Actual results of the Company's operations could materially differ from those forward-looking comments. The differences could be caused by a number of factors or combination of factors including, but not limited to: changes in demand for banking services; changes in portfolio composition; changes in management strategy; increased competition from both bank and non-bank companies; changes in the general level of interest rates; the effect of regulatory or government legislative changes; technology changes; and fluctuation in inflation.