German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.40.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GABC shares. Piper Sandler dropped 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 research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of German American Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th.

German American Bancorp Stock Performance

GABC opened at $37.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 0.60. German American Bancorp has a 1-year low of $31.06 and a 1-year high of $47.08. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

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

German American Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a positive change from German American Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. German American Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other German American Bancorp news, Director Diane B. Medley acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $39.21 per share, for a total transaction of $39,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $210,557.70. This trade represents a 22.88 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 1,083 shares of company stock worth $42,607. 6.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On German American Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in German American Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of German American Bancorp by 821.2% in 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 last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of German American Bancorp by 399.5% in 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 last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of German American Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $99,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of German American Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $201,000. Institutional investors own 46.90% of the company’s stock.

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.