Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) from a "strong-buy" to a "hold", though the consensus remains a Moderate Buy with five Buy ratings, one Hold and an average price target of $179.50.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $2.75, missing estimates by $0.23 while revenue of $134.85M beat expectations, and the stock trades near $154.50 with a P/E of 15.76.
• Insiders sold 13,036 shares in the last quarter (including a director sale of 6,396 shares), leaving insider ownership at about 7.2%.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Nicolet Bankshares from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Maxim Group raised their price target on Nicolet Bankshares from $161.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler upgraded Nicolet Bankshares from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $148.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Hovde Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Nicolet Bankshares currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $179.50.

Nicolet Bankshares Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE NIC opened at $154.50 on Monday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $151.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.45. Nicolet Bankshares has a twelve month low of $111.21 and a twelve month high of $163.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 0.74.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.23). Nicolet Bankshares had a net margin of 26.98% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The firm had revenue of $134.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $129.74 million. Research analysts forecast that Nicolet Bankshares will post 12.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Nicolet Bankshares

In other news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 6,396 shares of Nicolet Bankshares stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.47, for a total value of $994,386.12. Following the transaction, the director owned 34,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,375.38. The trade was a 15.81% 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. Insiders sold a total of 13,036 shares of company stock valued at $1,992,022 in the last quarter. 7.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. PDT Partners LLC increased its holdings in Nicolet Bankshares by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 5,572 shares of the company's stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Nicolet Bankshares by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the company's stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Nicolet Bankshares by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the company's stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Nicolet Bankshares by 71.8% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 347 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Nicolet Bankshares by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 23,181 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,829,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.06% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.