Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NYSE:NIC - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after Piper Sandler lowered their price target on the stock from $88.00 to $82.50. The stock had previously closed at $77.71, but opened at $75.39. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Nicolet Bankshares shares last traded at $75.71, with a volume of 25,683 shares trading hands.

NIC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Hovde Group raised shares of Nicolet Bankshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Nicolet Bankshares from a "c+" rating to a "b" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $92.00 price target on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nicolet Bankshares presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $88.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $163,860.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $3,513,895.77. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Eric James Witczak sold 2,053 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.45, for a total transaction of $169,269.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,415,656.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $163,860.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,513,895.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 16.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nicolet Bankshares

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares during the 4th quarter worth about $18,931,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 54.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 556,958 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,865,000 after purchasing an additional 195,707 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 130.1% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 330,521 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,446,000 after purchasing an additional 186,872 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at $7,746,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 8.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 475,076 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,953,000 after buying an additional 38,925 shares in the last quarter. 43.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nicolet Bankshares Stock Down 2.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm's 50 day moving average is $80.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.73 and a beta of 0.74.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $82.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.40 million. Nicolet Bankshares had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.69%. Research analysts predict that Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.

Nicolet Bankshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Nicolet Bankshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.63%.

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.