German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.40.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of German American Bancorp from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of German American Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other German American Bancorp news, Director Diane B. Medley bought 1,000 shares of German American Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $39.21 per share, with a total value of $39,210.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $210,557.70. This represents a 22.88 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 1,086 shares of company stock valued at $42,621. 6.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On German American Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in German American Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of German American Bancorp by 821.2% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 912 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in German American Bancorp by 399.5% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 969 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in German American Bancorp by 2,933.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,063 shares of the bank’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in German American Bancorp by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,952 shares of the bank’s stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the period. 46.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

German American Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GABC opened at $34.56 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.61. German American Bancorp has a twelve month low of $31.06 and a twelve month high of $47.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $38.27 and a 200 day moving average of $40.42.

German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The bank reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.09. German American Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.04% and a net margin of 23.69%. As a group, research analysts expect that German American Bancorp will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

German American Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. This is a positive change from German American Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. German American Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.13%.

German American Bancorp Company Profile

German American Bancorp, Inc operates as a financial holding company for German American Bank that provides retail and commercial banking services. The company operates through three segments: Core Banking, Wealth Management Services, and Insurance Operations. The Core Banking segment accepts deposits from the general public; and originates consumer, commercial and agricultural, commercial and agricultural real estate, and residential mortgage loans, as well as sells residential mortgage loans in the secondary market.