Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Republic Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:RBCAA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $102.00 and last traded at $99.75, with a volume of 172527 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $100.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Republic Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Republic Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Zacks Research upgraded Republic Bancorp to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Hovde Group upped their target price on Republic Bancorp from $80.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Republic Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.00.

Republic Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.23 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.65.

Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The bank reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $101.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $97.60 million. Republic Bancorp had a net margin of 25.38% and a return on equity of 11.32%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Republic Bancorp, Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 16th. Investors of record on Friday, September 18th will be given a $0.495 dividend. This represents a $1.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 18th. Republic Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Anthony T. Powell sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.54, for a total transaction of $250,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,062,686.14. This represents a 10.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christy Ames sold 340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.90, for a total transaction of $29,886.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $540,145.50. This trade represents a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 55.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Republic Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RBCAA. Vestor Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Republic Bancorp by 164.4% in the 1st quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 5,594 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 3,478 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Republic Bancorp by 29.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,035 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 3,687 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Republic Bancorp by 46.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,401 shares of the bank’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Republic Bancorp by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 78,246 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,520,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Republic Bancorp by 44.3% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 13,579 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $958,000 after purchasing an additional 4,167 shares during the last quarter. 24.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Republic Bancorp

Republic Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that operates through its principal subsidiary, Republic Bank & Trust Company. The company provides a full suite of commercial and retail banking services tailored to individuals, small businesses and middle‐market clients. Core offerings include deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, treasury and cash-management services, mortgage financing, SBA lending and wealth management solutions. Republic Bancorp also supports specialized financing needs through equipment leasing and small business advisory services.

Republic Bancorp’s branch network spans key markets in the U.S.