German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 923,500 shares, a decrease of 46.3% from the January 31st total of 1,720,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 108,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GABC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of German American Bancorp from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of German American Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.40.

German American Bancorp Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ GABC traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.62. 62,945 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 115,466. The company has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.13 and a beta of 0.64. German American Bancorp has a one year low of $31.06 and a one year high of $47.08. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $39.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.86.

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German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The bank reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.09. German American Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.04% and a net margin of 23.69%. On average, analysts predict that German American Bancorp will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

German American Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from German American Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. German American Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 41.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other German American Bancorp news, Director Diane B. Medley bought 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.21 per share, with a total value of $39,210.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,370 shares in the company, valued at $210,557.70. This represents a 22.88 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have bought 1,083 shares of company stock valued at $42,607 in the last ninety days. 6.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of German American Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GABC. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in German American Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $597,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of German American Bancorp by 577.6% during 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of German American Bancorp by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 772,675 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,941,000 after purchasing an additional 50,206 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of German American Bancorp by 154.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 60,850 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,358,000 after acquiring an additional 36,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, German American Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in shares of German American Bancorp by 160.1% in the third quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 514,018 shares of the bank's stock worth $19,918,000 after buying an additional 316,400 shares during the last quarter. 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.