German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) Short Interest Up 5.4% in December

German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,750,000 shares, a growth of 5.4% from the November 30th total of 1,660,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 81,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 21.5 days.

German American Bancorp Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ GABC traded down $0.32 on Wednesday, reaching $40.22. The company had a trading volume of 63,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,338. German American Bancorp has a 52 week low of $30.26 and a 52 week high of $47.08. The stock's 50 day moving average is $43.41 and its 200-day moving average is $39.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 0.63.

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

German American Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Sunday, November 10th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. German American Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 38.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. German American Bancorp Inc. increased its position in shares of German American Bancorp by 160.1% during the third quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 514,018 shares of the bank's stock worth $19,918,000 after acquiring an additional 316,400 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of German American Bancorp by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,708,130 shares of the bank's stock valued at $67,557,000 after purchasing an additional 196,003 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of German American Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,887,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $2,684,000 after purchasing an additional 59,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of German American Bancorp by 6.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 772,675 shares of the bank's stock worth $29,941,000 after buying an additional 50,206 shares during the period. 46.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.