German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $46.74 and last traded at $45.81, with a volume of 407 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $46.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GABC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens initiated coverage on German American Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Hovde Group upgraded German American Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $41.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Raymond James boosted their price target on German American Bancorp from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of German American Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of German American Bancorp from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.25.

German American Bancorp Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51 and a beta of 0.61.

German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $62.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.80 million. German American Bancorp had a net margin of 23.75% and a return on equity of 11.94%. Research analysts forecast that German American Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

German American Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, November 10th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. German American Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 38.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On German American Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in German American Bancorp by 1.1% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,922 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,198,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of German American Bancorp by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,220 shares of the bank’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of German American Bancorp by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of German American Bancorp by 1.7% in the second quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 50,316 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,779,000 after buying an additional 840 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in German American Bancorp by 5.6% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,610 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $799,000 after buying an additional 1,097 shares during the period. 46.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.