Ellsworth Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in 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 Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 14,130 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $606,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in NBT Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $38,978,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NBT Bancorp by 4.7% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 697,879 shares of the bank's stock worth $29,939,000 after buying an additional 31,317 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings 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 during the period. 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 valued at $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 valued at $10,075,000 after acquiring an additional 6,150 shares in the last quarter. 58.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David J. Nasca sold 19,603 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.42, for a total transaction of $851,162.26. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 82,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,599,952.20. The trade was a 19.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on NBTB shares. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of NBT Bancorp from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.00.

NBT Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NBTB traded down $0.48 during trading on Monday, hitting $42.80. The company had a trading volume of 171,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 233,985. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.45 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. NBT Bancorp Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.31 and a fifty-two week high of $52.44.

NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.06. NBT Bancorp had a net margin of 16.10% and a return on equity of 9.81%. The firm had revenue of $171.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $171.04 million. On average, research analysts expect that NBT Bancorp Inc. will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current year.

NBT Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be paid a $0.37 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. NBT Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.43%.

NBT Bancorp Profile

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.