German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,340,000 shares, a growth of 9.8% from the August 15th total of 1,220,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 117,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 11.4 days.

German American Bancorp Price Performance

German American Bancorp stock traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.61. 65,598 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 108,985. The company has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $38.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. German American Bancorp has a 12-month low of $24.85 and a 12-month high of $42.78.

German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The bank reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.08. German American Bancorp had a net margin of 24.44% and a return on equity of 12.97%. The company had revenue of $64.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.20 million. Equities analysts forecast that German American Bancorp will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

German American Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. German American Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at German American Bancorp

In other news, Director Diane B. Medley purchased 710 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $36.37 per share, with a total value of $25,822.70. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $158,936.90. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Thomas W. Seger bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $36.80 per share, with a total value of $110,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 484,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,823,785.60. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Diane B. Medley bought 710 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $36.37 per share, for a total transaction of $25,822.70. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $158,936.90. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 4,078 shares of company stock valued at $150,203 over the last 90 days. 6.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GABC. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its position in German American Bancorp by 186.2% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 2,058 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in German American Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $207,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in German American Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $251,000. LSV Asset Management increased its position in German American Bancorp by 96.4% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 7,265 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 3,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in German American Bancorp by 6.5% during the second quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 46.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on GABC. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of German American Bancorp from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of German American Bancorp from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of German American Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Hovde Group upped their price target on shares of German American Bancorp from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, German American Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.67.

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.