NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB) Short Interest Update

NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB - Get Free Report) was the target 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 trading volume of 300,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.8 days. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Heidi M. Hoeller acquired 2,588 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $42.88 per share, for a total transaction of $110,973.44. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 11,578 shares in the company, valued at $496,464.64. This represents a 28.79% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John H. Watt, Jr. sold 7,869 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 116,027 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,875,454.54. This trade represents a 6.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 5,491 shares of company stock worth $235,674. 3.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NBT Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 294 shares during the period. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in NBT Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $68,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of NBT Bancorp by 817.7% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,450 shares of the bank's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292 shares during the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NBT Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of NBT Bancorp by 42.0% in the fourth 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. 58.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NBTB has been the topic of several research reports. Hovde Group assumed coverage on NBT Bancorp in a research report on Friday, March 21st. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on NBT Bancorp from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NBT Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.75.

NBT Bancorp Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ NBTB traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $41.04. The stock had a trading volume of 160,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 239,562. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $41.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.44. The firm has a market cap of $1.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.86 and a beta of 0.58. NBT Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $34.47 and a fifty-two week high of $52.44. 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 (NASDAQ:NBTB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $155.31 million during 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 last year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that NBT Bancorp will post 3.69 EPS for the current year.

NBT Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. NBT Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.03%.

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.