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

Shares of German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $46.40.

GABC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of German American Bancorp from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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.

German American Bancorp Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of GABC opened at $37.75 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $39.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 0.60. 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 has a 1-year low of $31.06 and a 1-year high of $47.08.

German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The bank reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.09. German American Bancorp had a net margin of 23.69% and a return on equity of 12.04%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that German American Bancorp will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

German American Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from German American Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. German American Bancorp’s payout ratio is 41.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Diane B. Medley acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was purchased 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 directly owns 5,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,557.70. This trade represents a 22.88 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 1,083 shares of company stock valued at $42,607. Insiders own 6.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GABC. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of German American Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in German American Bancorp by 821.2% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 912 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 813 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in German American Bancorp by 399.5% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 969 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 775 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in German American Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $99,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in German American Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. 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.