German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.40.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on GABC shares. Hovde Group raised German American Bancorp from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens began coverage on shares of German American Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of German American Bancorp from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

German American Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of GABC stock traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $40.56. The stock had a trading volume of 534,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,431. 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 simple moving average of $43.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 0.63. German American Bancorp has a twelve month low of $30.26 and a twelve month high of $47.08.

German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.80 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that German American Bancorp will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

German American Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, November 10th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. German American Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.99%.

Institutional Trading of German American Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of German American Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $99,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of German American Bancorp during the second quarter worth $207,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of German American Bancorp by 6.2% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,220 shares of the bank's stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of German American Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $247,000. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in German American Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $346,000. 46.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.