Short Interest in German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) Expands By 7.6%

German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) was the target of a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,550,000 shares, an increase of 7.6% from the October 15th total of 1,440,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 76,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 20.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on GABC shares. Stephens assumed coverage on German American Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of German American Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of German American Bancorp from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of German American Bancorp from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Hovde Group upgraded German American Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $41.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On German American Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of German American Bancorp by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,922 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,198,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in German American Bancorp by 6.2% in the third 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 period. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in German American Bancorp by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. increased its position in shares of German American Bancorp by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 50,316 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of German American Bancorp by 5.6% in the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,610 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $799,000 after buying an additional 1,097 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.90% of the company’s stock.

German American Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GABC traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $45.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,123. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40 and a beta of 0.61. German American Bancorp has a 52 week low of $27.23 and a 52 week high of $46.75.

German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $62.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.80 million. On average, research analysts expect that German American Bancorp will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

German American Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, November 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. German American Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.99%.

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.