Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Shares of Republic Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:RBCAA) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 35,176 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 98% from the previous session’s volume of 17,789 shares.The stock last traded at $64.12 and had previously closed at $64.22.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Hovde Group cut their price target on shares of Republic Bancorp from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

Republic Bancorp Trading Up 2.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.42.

Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.22). Republic Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 20.05%.

Republic Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.451 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This is a positive change from Republic Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. Republic Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 34.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David P. Feaster sold 1,406 shares of Republic Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.42, for a total transaction of $93,386.52. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,303 shares in the company, valued at approximately $285,805.26. The trade was a 24.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John T. Rippy sold 3,082 shares of Republic Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.99, for a total transaction of $203,381.18. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,524,698.95. This represents a 11.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 55.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Republic Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RBCAA. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Republic Bancorp by 659.0% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 759 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Republic Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $70,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Republic Bancorp by 206.7% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,101 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 742 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. purchased a new position in Republic Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $208,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Republic Bancorp by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,271 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 962 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.37% of the company’s stock.

About Republic Bancorp

Republic Bancorp, Inc operates as a bank holding company for Republic Bank & Trust Company that provides various banking products and services in the United States. It operates in six segments: Traditional Banking, Warehouse, Mortgage Banking, Tax Refund Solutions, Republic Payment Solutions, and Republic Credit Solutions.