Ellsworth Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 14,130 NBT Bancorp Inc. $NBTB

Key Points

• Ellsworth Advisors LLC acquired 14,130 shares of NBT Bancorp Inc. worth approximately $606,000 in the first quarter, indicating growing institutional interest in the bank's stock.
• Several analysts have upgraded NBT Bancorp's stock ratings recently, with DA Davidson setting a new price target of $55.00 and two analysts issuing a buy rating.
• NBT Bancorp announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.37 per share, reflecting financial stability and a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Ellsworth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 14,130 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $606,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in NBT Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $38,978,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in NBT Bancorp by 4.7% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 697,879 shares of the bank's stock worth $29,939,000 after acquiring an additional 31,317 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in NBT Bancorp by 3.6% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 513,243 shares of the bank's stock worth $22,018,000 after acquiring an additional 18,035 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY raised its position in NBT Bancorp by 1.7% during the first quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 276,053 shares of the bank's stock worth $11,843,000 after acquiring an additional 4,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in NBT Bancorp by 2.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 234,849 shares of the bank's stock worth $10,075,000 after acquiring an additional 6,150 shares in the last quarter. 58.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David J. Nasca sold 19,603 shares of NBT Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.42, for a total transaction of $851,162.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 82,910 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,599,952.20. This trade represents a 19.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

NBT Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NBTB traded up $0.84 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 32,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 232,372. NBT Bancorp Inc. has a one year low of $37.31 and a one year high of $52.44. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $42.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54 and a beta of 0.60.

NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.06. NBT Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.81% and a net margin of 16.10%.The company had revenue of $171.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $171.04 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that NBT Bancorp Inc. will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NBT Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a boost from NBT Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. NBT Bancorp's payout ratio is 53.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of NBT Bancorp from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of NBT Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of NBT Bancorp to a "neutral" rating and set a $47.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.00.

About NBT Bancorp

NBT Bancorp Inc, a financial holding company, provides commercial banking, retail banking, and wealth management services. Its deposit products include demand deposit, savings, negotiable order of withdrawal, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts. The company's loan portfolio comprises indirect and direct consumer, home equity, mortgages, business banking loans, and commercial loans; commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, agricultural, and commercial construction loans; and residential real estate loans.