Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Republic Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.00.

Republic Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of RBCAA stock opened at $68.52 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $71.09 and a 200-day moving average of $70.99. The company has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Republic Bancorp has a 52 week low of $56.79 and a 52 week high of $78.25.

Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.13). Republic Bancorp had a net margin of 25.19% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The company had revenue of $94.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.50 million.

Republic Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.495 per share. This represents a $1.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from Republic Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. Republic Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 26.79%.

Institutional Trading of Republic Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RBCAA. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Republic Bancorp by 651.0% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 78,077 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,708,000 after acquiring an additional 67,681 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Republic Bancorp by 172.3% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 63,702 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,602,000 after acquiring an additional 40,308 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Republic Bancorp by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 238,979 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $17,472,000 after purchasing an additional 28,976 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in Republic Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,600,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Republic Bancorp by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 234,101 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $17,118,000 after purchasing an additional 19,271 shares during the last quarter. 24.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Republic Bancorp

Republic Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that operates through its principal subsidiary, Republic Bank & Trust Company. The company provides a full suite of commercial and retail banking services tailored to individuals, small businesses and middle‐market clients. Core offerings include deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, treasury and cash-management services, mortgage financing, SBA lending and wealth management solutions. Republic Bancorp also supports specialized financing needs through equipment leasing and small business advisory services.

Republic Bancorp’s branch network spans key markets in the U.S.