German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 484,082 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 369% from the previous session’s volume of 103,222 shares.The stock last traded at $40.29 and had previously closed at $41.11.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens started coverage on German American Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Hovde Group raised shares of German American Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on German American Bancorp from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, German American Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.40.

German American Bancorp Trading Down 1.3 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $43.38 and its 200-day moving average is $39.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.65 and a beta of 0.63.

German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. German American Bancorp had a net margin of 23.75% and a return on equity of 11.94%. The company had revenue of $62.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.80 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that German American Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

German American Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, November 10th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. German American Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On German American Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GABC. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of German American Bancorp by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 202,717 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,166,000 after purchasing an additional 8,028 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in German American Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,034,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in German American Bancorp by 24.8% during the 2nd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 108,371 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,831,000 after purchasing an additional 21,525 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in German American Bancorp by 2.6% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 47,992 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,697,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of German American Bancorp by 303.3% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 29,300 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 22,035 shares during the period. 46.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.