Exhibit 99.1

PULASKI FINANCIAL REPORTS IMPROVED LINKED-QUARTER EARNINGS

·                  Diluted EPS was $0.11 for the third fiscal quarter of 2011 compared with $0.05 for the linked quarter and $0.25 for the prior year quarter

·                  Net income was up from the linked quarter on lower non-interest expense but down from the prior year quarter on declines in net interest income and mortgage banking revenues resulting from decreased loan origination and sales activity

·                  The Bank’s regulatory capital position continued to strengthen, with estimated Tier 1 leverage and total risk-based capital ratios of 9.96% and 13.57%, respectively, at June 30, 2011

·                  Non-performing assets decreased 4% to $74.7 million at June 30, 2011 compared with $77.8 million at March 31, 2011

·                  Total non-interest expense decreased 14% from the linked quarter but up 7% from the prior year quarter

·                  Mortgage revenues increased 53% over the linked quarter on significantly higher profit margins, but decreased 26% from the prior year quarter

·                  Net interest income decreased 4% from the linked quarter and 5% from the prior year quarter on a decrease in average mortgage loans held for sale

·                  The provision for loan losses was $4.0 million for the quarter versus net charge-offs of $4.9 million compared with $3.5 million and $4.1 million, respectively, for the linked quarter and $4.5 million and $4.2 million, respectively, for the prior year quarter

ST. LOUIS, July 19, 2011 — Pulaski Financial Corp. (Nasdaq Global Select: PULB) today reported net income for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 of $1.7 million, or $0.11 per diluted common share, compared with net income of $1.1 million, or $0.05 per diluted common share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 and net income of $3.2 million, or $0.25 per diluted common share, for the June 2010 quarter.  Reducing income available to common shares were dividends and the related discount accretion on the Company’s preferred stock, issued in January 2009 as part of the U.S. Treasury’s TARP Capital Purchase Program, totaling $0.05 per diluted common share in each of the three quarters.  For the nine-month periods, the Company reported net income of $5.9 million, or $0.39 per diluted common share, in 2011 compared with net income of $106,000, which translated to a loss of $0.14 per diluted common share after deduction of preferred dividends, in 2010.  Earnings for the nine-month period ended June 30, 2010 were negatively impacted by significantly higher credit costs in the March 2010 quarter.

Gary Douglass, President and Chief Executive Officer commented, “On an overall basis, the June quarter was consistent with internal expectations.  Our earnings, while still not near where we want them to be, rebounded from the March quarter.  Overall asset quality trends (early

stage delinquencies, levels of internally adversely classified assets and reported levels of non-performing assets) continue to either remain stable or show slow and steady improvement.  As expected, we were able to substantially improve our net profit margins on mortgage loans sold, which allowed us to grow mortgage revenues 53% compared with the March 2011 quarter despite the current low volume environment.  And, in a commercial loan market where new loan demand was relatively weak, we were able to increase the balance of our C&I portfolio by 5% over the March 2011 quarter.  Finally, our overall non-interest expense returned to more representative historical levels, down from the elevated levels reported in the March 2011 quarter.”

Net Interest Income Down from the Linked and Prior Year Quarters

Net interest income decreased to $11.1 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2011 compared with $11.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 and $11.7 million for the same period a year ago.  For the nine-month period, net interest income increased $1.7 million, or 5%, to $36.0 million in 2011 compared with $34.3 million in 2010.

The decreases from the linked and prior year quarters were primarily the result of declines in the average balance of mortgage loans held for sale to $50.5 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 compared with $108.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 and $120.9 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2010.  The Company earns interest income on such loans during the short time they are held pending delivery to investors at interest rate spreads that are typically higher than other interest-earning assets held by the Company.  The declines in the average balance of these loans also negatively impacted the net interest margin, which decreased to 3.54% for the three months ended June 30, 2011 compared with 3.66% for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 and 3.65% for the quarter ended June 30, 2010.

Mortgage Revenues Increase over Linked Quarter on Higher Realized Profit Margins

Non-interest income was $3.1 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 compared with $2.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 and $3.7 million for the June 2010 quarter.  For the nine-month period, non-interest income totaled $9.4 million in 2011 compared with $11.6 million in 2010.  Mortgage revenues increased 53% to $1.3 million on loan sales of $259 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 compared with $848,000 on loan sales of $432 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2011, but declined 26% from $1.8 million on loan sales of $382 million in the June 2010 quarter.

Mortgage loans originated for sale totaled $257 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 compared with $239 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 and $456 million for the June 2010 quarter.  The Company saw an increase in demand for loans to finance home purchases compared with the linked quarter, but this level of demand was down significantly from the historically-high levels experienced throughout fiscal 2010 and early fiscal 2011.  In addition, the demand for mortgage refinancings continued to soften.  Loans to finance the purchase of homes totaled $187 million, or 73% of total loan originations, for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 compared with $118 million, or 49% of total loan originations for the quarter ended March 31, 2011, and $317 million, or 70% of total loan originations, for the June 2010 quarter.

2

Mortgage refinancings totaled $70 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 compared with $121 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 and $139 million for the June 2010 quarter.

Primarily as the result of improved gross profit margins and lower costs to originate loans, the net profit margin on loans sold increased to 0.50% for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 compared with 0.20% for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 and 0.46% for the June 2010 quarter.  Mortgage loans held for sale decreased $3.1 million, or 7%, to $44.8 million at June 30, 2011 compared with $48.0 million at March 31, 2011.

Douglass noted, “We are very pleased with the progress we made in the June 2011 quarter with respect to improvement in the net profit margin on mortgage loans sold.  In addition, in early July 2011, we made a significant reduction to our operating cost structure to place it more in line with today’s lower loan volume realities.  This reduction should allow us to report further growth in our net profit margins in the September 2011 quarter and beyond.  To address the substantially lower origination volumes currently being experienced throughout the mortgage industry, which are driven by a combination of continuing high unemployment and continuing economic and political uncertainty, we are focusing on how to capitalize on the dislocation within the mortgage markets to increase our market share.”

Non-interest income was also impacted by increases in retail banking fees and decreases in investment brokerage revenues.  Retail banking fees increased to $1.1 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 compared with $944,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 and $1.0 million for the June 2010 quarter as the result of changes to the Company’s deposit fee structure.  Investment brokerage revenues declined to $421,000 for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 compared with $602,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 and $610,000 for the June 2010 quarter.  The Company operates an investment brokerage division whose operations consist principally of brokering bonds from wholesale brokerage houses to other banks, municipalities and individual investors.  The Company saw a decrease in bond sales volumes during the June 2011 quarter compared with the linked and prior-year quarters as a result of weaker market demand for fixed-income investment products in the midst of an uncertain interest rate environment.

Non-interest Expense Shows Significant Decline from Linked Quarter

Total non-interest expense was $7.9 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 compared with $9.2 million for the linked quarter and $7.3 million for the prior year quarter.  For the nine-month period, non-interest expense was $25.4 million in 2011 compared with $23.9 million in 2010.

Compensation expense totaled $3.7 million in the June 2011 quarter compared with $4.1 million for the linked quarter and $3.2 million for the prior year quarter.  The changes in compensation expense were related primarily to the level of absorption of direct, fixed compensation costs that were deferred against loans originated.  The linked-quarter increase in loan originations resulted in a higher level of absorption and lower compensation expense while the decrease in origination activity compared with the prior year quarter resulted in a lower level of absorption and higher compensation expense.  Also contributing to the decline in non-interest expense during the June 2011 quarter was a decrease in real estate foreclosure expense and losses to $265,000 for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 compared with $727,000 for the linked quarter

3

and $550,000 for the prior year quarter primarily due to lower write-downs of properties and losses on sales that result from declines in their fair values subsequent to foreclosure.  FDIC deposit insurance premium expense was $475,000 compared with $854,000 for the linked quarter and $493,000 for the prior year quarter.  Effective April 1, 2011, the FDIC changed its method of assessing insurance premiums on all financial institutions from a deposit-based method to an asset-based method, resulting in a significant decrease in the Company’s assessment rate.

Asset Quality

The provision for loan losses for the three months ended June 30, 2011 was $4.0 million compared with $3.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 and $4.5 million for the June 2010 quarter.  For the nine-month periods, the provision for loan losses totaled $11.8 million in 2011 compared with $21.8 million in 2010.  Net charge offs for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 totaled $4.9 million, or 1.85% of average loans on an annualized basis, compared with $4.1 million, or 1.54% of average loans on an annualized basis, for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 and $4.2 million, or 1.51% of average loans on an annualized basis, for the June 2010 quarter.  Net charge offs for the June 2011 quarter exceeded the provision as troubled loans that had specific allowances established in prior periods were charged off.

Non-performing assets decreased to $74.7 million at June 30, 2011 from $77.8 million at March 31, 2011.  The decrease was primarily attributable to a $5.3 million decrease in non-accruing loans and a $492,000 decrease in real estate acquired in settlement of loans partially offset by a $2.8 million increase in troubled debt restructurings.

Douglass noted, “Total credit costs were essentially flat compared to the March 2011 quarter, with the modest increase in the provision for loan losses being offset by a similar decrease in foreclosure costs and expenses.  And, as stated earlier, overall asset quality trends and indicators continue to remain either stable or show slow and steady improvement.  Asset quality improvement that leads to a normalization of credit costs continues to be our number one priority.  We believe we are getting closer to that objective with each passing quarter, but acknowledge it is a deliberate process and, given the ongoing economic and political uncertainty, realize there could still be volatility in future quarters as we work through the challenges facing our borrowers.”

Conclusion / Outlook

Douglass stated, “Looking forward to the last quarter of fiscal 2011, we anticipate a continuing modest improvement in bottom line results.  This should be accomplished by stabilizing to modestly growing net interest income, a continued movement toward normalization of overall credit costs, increasing levels of non-interest income, with special focus on continued growth in net profit margins on mortgage loans sold, and a rationalization of our overall company-wide cost structure.”

He continued, “In conclusion, our number one priority remains asset quality improvement, which should drive the normalization of credit costs.  When accomplished, this will be a meaningful earnings driver.  However, we also fully realize that both in the near and certainly longer term,

4

we cannot rely solely on lower credit costs to improve future earnings.  Sustainable revenue growth is an essential element of future earnings growth.  Our near-term focus will be on selective commercial loan growth in the C&I and owner-occupied commercial real estate space and continuing to drive growth in net profit margins on mortgage loans sold.  We will also attempt to capitalize on the dislocation of the current mortgage markets to drive additional market share.”

Conference Call Tomorrow

Pulaski Financial’s management will discuss third quarter results and other developments tomorrow, July 20, 2011, during a conference call beginning at 11 a.m. EDT (10 a.m. CDT).  The call also will be simultaneously webcast and archived for three months at:  http://pulaskibankstl.com/corporate-profile.aspx.  Participants in the conference call may dial 877-473-3757 a few minutes before start time. The call also will be available for replay through August 3, 2011 at 800-642-1687 or 706-645-9291, conference ID 35506289.

About Pulaski Financial

Pulaski Financial Corp., operating in its 89th year through its subsidiary, Pulaski Bank, serves customers throughout the St. Louis and Kansas City metropolitan areas. The bank offers a full line of quality retail and commercial banking products through 13 full-service branch offices in the St. Louis metropolitan area and offers mortgage loan products through six loan production offices in the St. Louis and Kansas City metropolitan areas and Wichita, Kansas.  The Company’s website can be accessed at www.pulaskibankstl.com.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements about Pulaski Financial Corp., which the Company intends to be covered under the safe harbor provisions contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Statements that are not historical or current facts, including statements about beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements cover, among other things, anticipated future revenue and expenses and the future plans and prospects of the Company. These statements often include the words “may,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “intends,” “plans,” “targets,” “potentially,” “probably,” “projects,” “outlook” or similar expressions. You are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve uncertainties, and important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including changes in general business and economic conditions, changes in interest rates, legal and regulatory developments, increased competition from both banks and non-banks, changes in customer behavior and preferences,  and effects of critical accounting policies and judgments. For discussion of these and other risks that may cause actual results to differ from expectations, refer to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2010 on file with the SEC, including the sections entitled “Risk Factors.”  These risks and uncertainties should be considered in evaluating forward-looking statements and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements.  Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update them in light of new information or future events.

For Additional Information Contact:

Paul Milano

Chief Financial Officer

Pulaski Financial Corp.

(314) 317-5046

Tables follow...

5

PULASKI FINANCIAL CORP.

CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

(Unaudited)

PULASKI FINANCIAL CORP.

CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF INCOME, Continued

(Unaudited)

PULASKI FINANCIAL CORP.

BALANCE SHEET DATA

(Unaudited)

PULASKI FINANCIAL CORP.

NONPERFORMING ASSETS

(Unaudited)

(1) Troubled debt restructured includes non-accrual loans totaling $40.2 million, $37.4 million and $33.1 million at June 30, 2011, March 31, 2011 and September 30, 2010, respectively.  These totals are not included in non-accrual loans above.

PULASKI FINANCIAL CORP.

ALLOWANCE FOR LOAN LOSSES AND ASSET QUALITY RATIOS

(Unaudited)

PULASKI FINANCIAL CORP.

AVERAGE BALANCE SHEETS

(Unaudited)