German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.40.

A number of research firms have commented on GABC. 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 report on Wednesday, October 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on 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. Finally, Stephens started coverage on German American Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company.

German American Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GABC opened at $38.85 on Thursday. German American Bancorp has a 12-month low of $30.66 and a 12-month high of $47.08. The company has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.03 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.43. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. German American Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 23.75%. The company had revenue of $62.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.80 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that German American Bancorp will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

German American Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. German American Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On German American Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of German American Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $99,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of German American Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $207,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in German American Bancorp by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,220 shares of the bank’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in German American Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $247,000. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in German American Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $346,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.90% of the company’s stock.

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.