NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) Upgraded to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• NBT Bancorp was upgraded from a "sell" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, with other analysts also issuing positive ratings and price objectives ranging from $47.00 to $55.00.
• The bank reported earnings of $0.88 per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations and indicating a strong financial performance.
• Institutional investors now own 58.46% of NBT Bancorp's stock, reflecting significant interest from hedge funds and large investment firms.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

NBTB has been the topic of several other reports. Piper Sandler upgraded NBT Bancorp to a "neutral" rating and set a $47.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of NBT Bancorp from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NBT Bancorp has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.00.

NBT Bancorp Stock Up 1.1%

NBTB traded up $0.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.99. 173,682 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 247,580. The stock has a market cap of $1.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 0.59. NBT Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $37.31 and a fifty-two week high of $52.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $42.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.43.

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

NBT Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from NBT Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. NBT Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Heidi M. Hoeller purchased 2,588 shares of NBT Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $42.88 per share, for a total transaction of $110,973.44. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,578 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $496,464.64. The trade was a 28.79% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John H. Watt, Jr. sold 7,869 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.02, for a total transaction of $330,655.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 116,027 shares in the company, valued at $4,875,454.54. This represents a 6.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.03% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NBT Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in NBT Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $52,606,000. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in NBT Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,978,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NBT Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $23,651,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of NBT Bancorp by 307.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 376,849 shares of the bank's stock valued at $17,998,000 after purchasing an additional 284,267 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in NBT Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,736,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.