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

German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.40.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GABC. Piper Sandler dropped their price target 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 report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Hovde Group raised shares of German American Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $41.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On German American Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of German American Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of German American Bancorp by 399.5% during 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 during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of German American Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $99,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of German American Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $201,000. 46.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

German American Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:GABC opened at $39.27 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. German American Bancorp has a 52 week low of $30.66 and a 52 week high of $47.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $40.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.93 and a beta of 0.64.

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, topping 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%. As a group, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. 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. German American Bancorp’s payout ratio is 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.