German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,750,000 shares, a growth of 5.4% from the November 30th total of 1,660,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 81,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 21.5 days.

German American Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GABC opened at $40.22 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.90. German American Bancorp has a 1-year low of $30.26 and a 1-year high of $47.08. The firm has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 0.63.

German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $62.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.80 million. German American Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 23.75%. Analysts anticipate that German American Bancorp will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

German American Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, November 10th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. German American Bancorp’s payout ratio is 38.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On German American Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of German American Bancorp by 577.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 69,271 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,684,000 after purchasing an additional 59,048 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in German American Bancorp by 6.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 772,675 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,941,000 after buying an additional 50,206 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in German American Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $597,000. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of German American Bancorp by 303.3% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 29,300 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 22,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, German American Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in shares of German American Bancorp by 160.1% during the third quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 514,018 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,918,000 after purchasing an additional 316,400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on GABC shares. Hovde Group raised shares of 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. Stephens began coverage on German American Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on German American Bancorp from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.40.

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.