Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

Republic Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:RBCAA) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 35,176 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 98% from the previous session’s volume of 17,789 shares.The stock last traded at $64.12 and had previously closed at $64.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Hovde Group lowered their price target on shares of Republic Bancorp from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

Republic Bancorp Trading Up 0.2 %

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.45. The firm has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.22). Republic Bancorp had a net margin of 20.05% and a return on equity of 10.60%.

Republic Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.451 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. This is a boost from Republic Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Republic Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.42%.

Insider Activity at Republic Bancorp

In other news, EVP John T. Rippy sold 3,082 shares of Republic Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.99, for a total transaction of $203,381.18. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,524,698.95. The trade was a 11.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David P. Feaster sold 1,406 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.42, for a total value of $93,386.52. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,303 shares in the company, valued at approximately $285,805.26. This represents a 24.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 55.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Republic Bancorp

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Republic Bancorp by 4.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 219,628 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,345,000 after purchasing an additional 9,430 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Republic Bancorp by 338.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 12,736 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $831,000 after buying an additional 9,830 shares during the period. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Republic Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $280,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Republic Bancorp by 50.1% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 31,822 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,078,000 after acquiring an additional 10,617 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Republic Bancorp by 10.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,635 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 1,515 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.37% of the company’s stock.

About Republic Bancorp

Republic Bancorp, Inc operates as a bank holding company for Republic Bank & Trust Company that provides various banking products and services in the United States. It operates in six segments: Traditional Banking, Warehouse, Mortgage Banking, Tax Refund Solutions, Republic Payment Solutions, and Republic Credit Solutions.