Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Nicolet Bankshares, with five buy ratings and two holds. The average 12-month price target is $183, slightly above the stock’s reported $178.47 price.
• Nicolet reported quarterly earnings of $2.99 per share, exceeding the $2.85 consensus estimate, while revenue of $177.75 million also topped expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, equivalent to an annualized $1.44 payout and a 0.8% yield; meanwhile, insiders sold about $716,000 of stock over the past 90 days.

Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $183.00.

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Nicolet Bankshares in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Piper Sandler set a $194.00 price target on Nicolet Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised Nicolet Bankshares from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded Nicolet Bankshares from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Nicolet Bankshares from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nicolet Bankshares

In other Nicolet Bankshares news, EVP Eric James Witczak sold 1,215 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.89, for a total value of $203,986.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 33,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,646,140.70. This trade represents a 3.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 2,662 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.24, for a total transaction of $453,178.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 34,483 shares in the company, valued at $5,870,385.92. This trade represents a 7.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,219 shares of company stock worth $715,976. Corporate insiders own 7.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nicolet Bankshares

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 86.3% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,027,246 shares of the company's stock worth $500,676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402,419 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 32.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 819,274 shares of the company's stock valued at $121,756,000 after buying an additional 198,997 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Nicolet Bankshares by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 737,578 shares of the company's stock worth $89,468,000 after buying an additional 22,474 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Nicolet Bankshares by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 458,724 shares of the company's stock worth $55,643,000 after buying an additional 26,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Nicolet Bankshares in the 1st quarter valued at $31,794,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.06% of the company's stock.

Nicolet Bankshares Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:NIC opened at $178.47 on Friday. Nicolet Bankshares has a 12 month low of $114.11 and a 12 month high of $180.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.41.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.85 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $177.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.93 million. Nicolet Bankshares had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 11.36%. Analysts expect that Nicolet Bankshares will post 12.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nicolet Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Nicolet Bankshares's payout ratio is 16.35%.

About Nicolet Bankshares

Nicolet Bankshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Through its subsidiary, Nicolet National Bank, it provides a range of commercial and consumer banking services to businesses, individuals and nonprofit organizations across northeastern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The company's branch network, digital banking platform and commercial lending centers support its focus on community banking and regional growth.

The company offers deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside consumer and commercial lending solutions.

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