Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NYSE:NIC) saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 68,480 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 43% from the previous session’s volume of 48,029 shares.The stock last traded at $113.42 and had previously closed at $110.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Maxim Group upped their price objective on Nicolet Bankshares from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Nicolet Bankshares Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.23. Nicolet Bankshares had a net margin of 23.83% and a return on equity of 10.95%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nicolet Bankshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Nicolet Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Susan L. Merkatoris sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.27, for a total transaction of $111,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 82,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,148,396.86. This represents a 1.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 3,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.08, for a total value of $469,368.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 30,317 shares in the company, valued at $3,579,831.36. This trade represents a 11.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,527 shares of company stock valued at $996,674. Company insiders own 16.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nicolet Bankshares

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Nicolet Bankshares by 748.7% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $128,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Nicolet Bankshares by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Nicolet Bankshares during the 3rd quarter worth $155,000. 43.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Nicolet Bankshares

Nicolet Bankshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Nicolet National Bank that provides banking products and services for businesses and individuals in Wisconsin and Michigan. The company accepts checking, savings, and money market accounts; various certificates of deposit; and individual retirement accounts.