Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Shares of Republic Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:RBCAA) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 47,274 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 92% from the previous session’s volume of 24,650 shares.The stock last traded at $72.22 and had previously closed at $70.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of Republic Bancorp from $64.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th.

Republic Bancorp Trading Up 1.1%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $69.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.80. The company has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $135.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $126.90 million. Republic Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.92% and a net margin of 22.94%.

Republic Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be paid a $0.451 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Republic Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.65%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Christy Ames sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.50, for a total transaction of $49,350.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $355,602. This represents a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 56.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Republic Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RBCAA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Bancorp by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 575,166 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,707,000 after buying an additional 60,300 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Republic Bancorp by 12.8% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 210,003 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,402,000 after acquiring an additional 23,886 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Republic Bancorp by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 114,292 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,986,000 after acquiring an additional 3,105 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Republic Bancorp by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 85,367 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,965,000 after acquiring an additional 3,512 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Republic Bancorp by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 72,883 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,932 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.37% of the company’s stock.

Republic Bancorp Company Profile

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.