Republic Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:RBCAA) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Republic Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:RBCAA - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 75,700 shares, a decrease of 15.4% from the April 30th total of 89,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 29,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 0.9% of the company's stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Hovde Group increased their price objective on Republic Bancorp from $64.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th.

Institutional Trading of Republic Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RBCAA. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Republic Bancorp by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,851 shares of the bank's stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Republic Bancorp by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 64,930 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,537,000 after purchasing an additional 3,105 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Republic Bancorp by 659.0% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 759 shares of the bank's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Republic Bancorp by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,238 shares of the bank's stock worth $995,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Republic Bancorp by 3,326.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 11,137 shares of the bank's stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 10,812 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.37% of the company's stock.

Republic Bancorp Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ RBCAA traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $68.15. 24,155 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 26,778. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 0.51. The company's fifty day moving average is $67.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.55. Republic Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $48.67 and a fifty-two week high of $80.68.

Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $135.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $126.90 million. Republic Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 20.05%.

Republic Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be issued a $0.451 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. Republic Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.65%.

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.