German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) Sees Large Volume Increase After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on the stock from $46.00 to $47.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Approximately 454,476 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 431% from the previous session’s volume of 85,598 shares.The stock last traded at $41.68 and had previously closed at $41.71.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Hovde Group raised German American Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $41.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens assumed coverage on German American Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on German American Bancorp from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, German American Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.40.

Institutional Trading of German American Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GABC. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in German American Bancorp by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,708,130 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,557,000 after acquiring an additional 196,003 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in German American Bancorp by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 954,536 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,988,000 after acquiring an additional 32,816 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in German American Bancorp by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 772,675 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,941,000 after acquiring an additional 50,206 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in German American Bancorp by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,094 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,289,000 after acquiring an additional 11,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, German American Bancorp Inc. raised its stake in German American Bancorp by 160.1% in the 3rd quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 514,018 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,918,000 after acquiring an additional 316,400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.90% of the company’s stock.

German American Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 14.66 and a beta of 0.65. 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 has a 50 day moving average of $41.64 and a 200-day moving average of $40.63.

German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) last issued its 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%. Equities analysts predict that German American Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

German American Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. This is a positive change from German American Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. German American Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.30%.

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.