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

German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) saw a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,070,000 shares, a growth of 19.2% from the March 15th total of 897,400 shares. Approximately 3.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 130,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.2 days.

Insider Activity at German American Bancorp

In other news, Director Diane B. Medley acquired 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, for a total transaction of $39,210.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $210,557.70. The trade was a 22.88 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders purchased 1,112 shares of company stock worth $43,556 in the last 90 days. 6.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On German American Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in German American Bancorp by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,708,130 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,557,000 after purchasing an additional 196,003 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in shares of German American Bancorp by 138.2% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 317,221 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,759,000 after buying an additional 184,065 shares during the last quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company boosted its stake in German American Bancorp by 34.7% during the 1st quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 490,458 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,392,000 after acquiring an additional 126,236 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of German American Bancorp by 437.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 96,438 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,879,000 after purchasing an additional 78,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of German American Bancorp by 577.6% in the 3rd 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. 46.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GABC has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of German American Bancorp from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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 equities 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. According to MarketBeat, German American Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.40.

German American Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ GABC traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $35.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 114,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 108,643. The company’s 50-day moving average is $37.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.35. The stock has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.61. German American Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $31.06 and a fifty-two week high of $47.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) last released its 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 net margin of 23.69% and a return on equity of 12.04%. Analysts forecast that German American Bancorp will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

German American Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. 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. German American Bancorp’s payout ratio is 41.13%.

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.