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

German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,650,000 shares, a decrease of 5.7% from the December 15th total of 1,750,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 92,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 17.8 days.

German American Bancorp Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GABC opened at $39.75 on Friday. German American Bancorp has a 52 week low of $30.66 and a 52 week high of $47.08. The company’s 50 day moving average is $42.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.32. The company has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $62.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.80 million. German American Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 23.75%. Equities analysts predict that German American Bancorp will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

German American Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, November 10th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. German American Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GABC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of German American Bancorp from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Hovde Group upgraded shares of German American Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on German American Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On German American Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GABC. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in German American Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $597,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in German American Bancorp by 6.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 772,675 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,941,000 after acquiring an additional 50,206 shares during the last quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in German American Bancorp by 160.1% in the third quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 514,018 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,918,000 after acquiring an additional 316,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of German American Bancorp by 13.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,708,130 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,557,000 after purchasing an additional 196,003 shares during the last quarter. 46.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.