Short Interest in NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB) Decreases By 25.3%

NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,450,000 shares, a decline of 25.3% from the April 30th total of 1,940,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 300,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.8 days. Currently, 3.2% of the company's stock are short sold.

NBT Bancorp Stock Down 0.6%

NBT Bancorp stock traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $41.32. The stock had a trading volume of 13,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 238,016. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. NBT Bancorp has a one year low of $34.47 and a one year high of $52.44. The company has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $41.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.52.

NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $155.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $151.00 million. NBT Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.39% and a net margin of 17.84%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. On average, analysts expect that NBT Bancorp will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NBT Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. NBT Bancorp's payout ratio is 45.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NBTB. Wall Street Zen downgraded NBT Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Hovde Group began coverage on NBT Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 21st. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on NBT Bancorp from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Heidi M. Hoeller bought 2,553 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $43.21 per share, for a total transaction of $110,315.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,990 shares of the company's stock, valued at $388,457.90. This trade represents a 39.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John H. Watt, Jr. sold 7,869 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.02, for a total value of $330,655.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 116,027 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,875,454.54. The trade was a 6.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of NBT Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of NBT Bancorp by 51.3% during the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 867 shares of the bank's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NBT Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of NBT Bancorp by 817.7% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,450 shares of the bank's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292 shares during the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NBT Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $87,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of NBT Bancorp by 42.0% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,836 shares of the bank's stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.46% of the company's stock.

NBT Bancorp Company 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.