German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Shares of German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 484,082 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 369% from the previous session’s volume of 103,222 shares.The stock last traded at $40.29 and had previously closed at $41.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GABC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst 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 research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens initiated coverage on German American Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Hovde Group raised German American Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $41.00 to $48.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.40.

German American Bancorp Stock Down 1.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $43.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.62.

German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share (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 net margin of 23.75% and a return on equity of 11.94%. As a group, equities analysts predict that German American Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

German American Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, November 10th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. German American Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GABC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of German American Bancorp by 154.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 60,850 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,358,000 after purchasing an additional 36,954 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of German American Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $597,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of German American Bancorp by 13.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,708,130 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,557,000 after buying an additional 196,003 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in German American Bancorp by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,094 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,289,000 after buying an additional 11,386 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of German American Bancorp by 577.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 69,271 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,684,000 after purchasing an additional 59,048 shares during the last quarter. 46.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.