German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) Short Interest Up 5.4% in December

German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,750,000 shares, a growth of 5.4% from the November 30th total of 1,660,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 81,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 21.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on GABC shares. Stephens assumed coverage on German American Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Hovde Group upgraded shares of German American Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $41.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.40.

German American Bancorp Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of GABC opened at $38.85 on Friday. German American Bancorp has a 12 month low of $30.26 and a 12 month high of $47.08. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.03 and a beta of 0.63. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $43.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.89.

German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.71 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 firm had revenue of $62.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.80 million. Analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Sunday, November 10th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. German American Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 38.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of German American Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $99,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in German American Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $207,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised 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 valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in German American Bancorp during the third quarter worth $247,000. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of German American Bancorp during the third quarter worth $346,000. 46.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.