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

Shares of German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.40.

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target 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. Hovde Group raised shares of German American Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on 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.

German American Bancorp Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of German American Bancorp stock opened at $40.33 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $40.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.67. The company has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 0.64. German American Bancorp has a 12-month low of $30.66 and a 12-month high of $47.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The bank reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.09. German American Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.04% and a net margin of 23.69%. On average, equities analysts expect that German American Bancorp will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

German American Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. 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 38.30%.

Institutional Trading of German American Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in German American Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $597,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of German American Bancorp by 577.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 69,271 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,684,000 after purchasing an additional 59,048 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of German American Bancorp by 6.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 772,675 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,941,000 after purchasing an additional 50,206 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of German American Bancorp by 154.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 60,850 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,358,000 after purchasing an additional 36,954 shares during the period. Finally, German American Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in German American Bancorp by 160.1% in the 3rd quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 514,018 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,918,000 after buying an additional 316,400 shares during the period. 46.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About German American Bancorp

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.