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

Shares of German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.40.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on German American Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler cut 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 report on Wednesday, January 29th.

German American Bancorp Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of German American Bancorp stock opened at $34.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 0.61. German American Bancorp has a 52-week low of $31.06 and a 52-week high of $47.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.62.

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

German American Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is an increase from German American Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. German American Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 41.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at German American Bancorp

In other German American Bancorp news, Director Diane B. Medley purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $39.21 per share, with a total value of $39,210.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $210,557.70. The trade was a 22.88 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have bought 1,086 shares of company stock worth $42,621 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On German American Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GABC. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in German American Bancorp by 13.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,708,130 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,557,000 after buying an additional 196,003 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of German American Bancorp by 138.2% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 317,221 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,759,000 after acquiring an additional 184,065 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in German American Bancorp by 437.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 96,438 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,879,000 after acquiring an additional 78,482 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in German American Bancorp by 577.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 69,271 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,684,000 after acquiring an additional 59,048 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in German American Bancorp by 40.4% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 188,323 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,574,000 after acquiring an additional 54,199 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 46.90% of the company’s stock.

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.