Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $183.00.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nicolet Bankshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Nicolet Bankshares from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $194.00 price target on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd.

Nicolet Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NIC opened at $172.32 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Nicolet Bankshares has a 12 month low of $114.11 and a 12 month high of $180.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $170.45 and a 200-day moving average of $156.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56 and a beta of 0.64.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by $0.14. Nicolet Bankshares had a return on equity of 11.36% and a net margin of 21.77%.The business had revenue of $177.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.93 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Nicolet Bankshares will post 12.3 EPS for the current year.

Nicolet Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Nicolet Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Eric Witczak sold 1,215 shares of Nicolet Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.89, for a total transaction of $203,986.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 33,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,646,140.70. This trade represents a 3.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Atwell sold 2,662 shares of Nicolet Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.24, for a total value of $453,178.88. Following the sale, the director directly owned 34,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,870,385.92. The trade was a 7.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,219 shares of company stock worth $715,976. 7.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nicolet Bankshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Nicolet Bankshares by 344.3% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 124,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,571,000 after acquiring an additional 96,387 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 86.3% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,027,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $500,676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402,419 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $9,222,000. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp raised its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 274.9% in the first quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 74,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,145,000 after buying an additional 54,988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 53.2% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 40,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,989,000 after buying an additional 14,000 shares during the period. 43.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Nicolet Bankshares

Nicolet Bankshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Through its subsidiary, Nicolet National Bank, it provides a range of commercial and consumer banking services to businesses, individuals and nonprofit organizations across northeastern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The company’s branch network, digital banking platform and commercial lending centers support its focus on community banking and regional growth.

The company offers deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside consumer and commercial lending solutions.