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

German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) was the target of a large growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,340,000 shares, a growth of 9.8% from the August 15th total of 1,220,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 117,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 11.4 days.

German American Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of GABC stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $39.61. The company had a trading volume of 65,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 108,985. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $38.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.95. German American Bancorp has a one year low of $24.85 and a one year high of $42.78. The firm has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83.

German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The bank reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.08. German American Bancorp had a net margin of 24.44% and a return on equity of 12.97%. The firm had revenue of $64.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.20 million. Sell-side analysts predict that German American Bancorp will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

German American Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, August 10th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. German American Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas W. Seger acquired 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $36.80 per share, for a total transaction of $110,400.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 484,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,823,785.60. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other German American Bancorp news, Director Diane B. Medley purchased 710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $36.37 per share, for a total transaction of $25,822.70. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,370 shares in the company, valued at $158,936.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas W. Seger purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $36.80 per share, with a total value of $110,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 484,342 shares in the company, valued at $17,823,785.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 4,078 shares of company stock worth $150,203. 6.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of German American Bancorp

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in German American Bancorp by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 31,950 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after buying an additional 2,341 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in German American Bancorp by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 227,390 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,370,000 after buying an additional 5,090 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in German American Bancorp by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,093,033 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,426,000 after buying an additional 30,050 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in German American Bancorp by 101.5% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 23,295 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $755,000 after buying an additional 11,732 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in German American Bancorp by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,305,881 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,324,000 after buying an additional 177,399 shares during the period. 46.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GABC. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of German American Bancorp from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of German American Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of German American Bancorp from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of German American Bancorp from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, German American Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.67.

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.