Principal Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 15,411 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $597,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.05% of German American Bancorp as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in German American Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $207,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in German American Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $247,000. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in German American Bancorp by 6.5% in the second quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new position in German American Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $346,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in German American Bancorp by 180.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 17,761 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $628,000 after purchasing an additional 11,439 shares in the last quarter. 46.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

German American Bancorp Trading Up 2.0 %

NASDAQ:GABC opened at $45.96 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $41.07 and a 200-day moving average of $37.80. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59 and a beta of 0.61. German American Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $27.23 and a one year high of $46.75.

German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. German American Bancorp had a net margin of 23.75% and a return on equity of 11.94%. The business had revenue of $62.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.80 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that German American Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

German American Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Sunday, November 10th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. German American Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 38.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted 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 report on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of German American Bancorp from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of 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 shares of German American Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $41.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of German American Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, German American Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.25.

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.