Short Interest in German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) Declines By 46.3%

German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 923,500 shares, a drop of 46.3% from the January 31st total of 1,720,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 108,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GABC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on 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. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on German American Bancorp from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, German American Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other German American Bancorp news, Director Diane B. Medley purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $39.21 per share, with a total value of $39,210.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,557.70. The trade was a 22.88 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders acquired 1,083 shares of company stock valued at $42,607. Insiders own 6.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GABC. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of German American Bancorp by 42.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 16,321 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $632,000 after acquiring an additional 4,840 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of German American Bancorp by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 18,090 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $692,000 after acquiring an additional 1,986 shares during the period. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of German American Bancorp by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 62,415 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,419,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of German American Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $597,000. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of German American Bancorp by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 134,124 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,197,000 after acquiring an additional 25,753 shares during the period. 46.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

German American Bancorp Trading Up 0.8 %

GABC opened at $39.92 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $39.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.79. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.16 and a beta of 0.64. German American Bancorp has a 52 week low of $30.66 and a 52 week 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.

German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The bank reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.09. German American Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.04% and a net margin of 23.69%. Analysts forecast that German American Bancorp will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

German American Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.91%. German American Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.13%.

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.