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

German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.40.

A number of research firms have recently commented on GABC. Hovde Group upgraded German American Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $41.00 to $48.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target 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. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on shares of German American Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company.

German American Bancorp Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of GABC stock opened at $38.85 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.43. German American Bancorp has a twelve month low of $30.66 and a twelve month high of $47.08.

German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $62.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.80 million. German American Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 23.75%. Research analysts forecast that German American Bancorp will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

German American Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. German American Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 38.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On German American Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of German American Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $99,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of German American Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $207,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in German American Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $247,000. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in German American Bancorp in the third quarter worth $346,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.90% of the company’s stock.

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.