Short Interest in Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC) Decreases By 24.8%

Key Points

• The short interest for Nicolet Bankshares Inc. decreased by 24.8% in July, totaling 259,400 shares, reflecting a short-interest ratio of 3.0 days based on an average daily volume of 85,400 shares.
• Equities analysts have mixed views, with Piper Sandler maintaining a "neutral" rating while Maxim Group raised their price target to $161.00 and rated the stock as a "buy."
• Nicolet Bankshares recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, resulting in a dividend yield of 1.0%, with a payout ratio of 14.70%.

Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 259,400 shares, adeclineof24.8% from the July 15th total of 345,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 85,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately2.0% of the company's shares are short sold. Approximately2.0% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 85,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nicolet Bankshares

In other news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 6,904 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.47, for a total transaction of $962,900.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 34,220 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,772,663.40. The trade was a 16.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Eric James Witczak sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $698,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 28,901 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,039,492.77. This represents a 14.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,238 shares of company stock valued at $2,427,488 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 14.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nicolet Bankshares

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NIC. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 50.6% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 519,013 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,088,000 after purchasing an additional 174,361 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 485.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 184,281 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,755,000 after purchasing an additional 152,817 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares in the 1st quarter valued at about $15,303,000. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. now owns 888,335 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,793,000 after purchasing an additional 45,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,754,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.06% of the company's stock.

Nicolet Bankshares Stock Up 1.6%

NIC stock traded up $2.17 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $137.61. The stock had a trading volume of 57,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 68,540. Nicolet Bankshares has a 1-year low of $90.07 and a 1-year high of $141.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.80 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $129.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.41.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.21. Nicolet Bankshares had a net margin of 25.12% and a return on equity of 11.48%. The firm had revenue of $95.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.89 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Nicolet Bankshares will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nicolet Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Nicolet Bankshares's dividend payout ratio is 14.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NIC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $131.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nicolet Bankshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $140.00 price target (up from $122.50) on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $145.33.

About Nicolet Bankshares

Nicolet Bankshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Nicolet National Bank that provides banking products and services for businesses and individuals in Wisconsin and Michigan. The company accepts checking, savings, and money market accounts; various certificates of deposit; and individual retirement accounts.