Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on NIC. Piper Sandler raised shares of Nicolet Bankshares from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $148.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Hovde Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $161.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Nicolet Bankshares presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.00.

Nicolet Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of Nicolet Bankshares stock opened at $142.78 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Nicolet Bankshares has a twelve month low of $114.11 and a twelve month high of $163.11. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.74 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s fifty day moving average is $151.73 and its 200 day moving average is $137.49.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.23). Nicolet Bankshares had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 21.89%.The business had revenue of $134.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $129.74 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Nicolet Bankshares will post 12.45 EPS for the current year.

Nicolet Bankshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a boost from Nicolet Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Nicolet Bankshares’s payout ratio is 13.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 6,396 shares of Nicolet Bankshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.47, for a total transaction of $994,386.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,294,375.38. This trade represents a 15.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 13,036 shares of company stock worth $1,992,022 over the last ninety days. 7.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nicolet Bankshares

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NIC. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Nicolet Bankshares by 150.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 13,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,524,000 after buying an additional 8,410 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Nicolet Bankshares by 15.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,557 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Nicolet Bankshares by 6.8% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $886,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Nicolet Bankshares by 6.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 29,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,245,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Nicolet Bankshares by 3,940.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 43.06% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Nicolet Bankshares

Here are the key news stories impacting Nicolet Bankshares this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board approved a quarterly dividend increase to $0.36/share (12.5% raise vs prior quarter), providing income support and signaling management confidence in capital. (ex-dividend and pay dates in June)
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler kept an Overweight rating and a high price target (trimmed slightly to $183), signaling continued buy-side conviction that there’s meaningful upside longer term. Piper Sandler lowers price target to $183
• Neutral Sentiment: Nicolet and Sunwest agreed on a sale of certain former MidWestOne / Bank of Denver branches — likely a regulatory or strategic divestiture tied to the MidWestOne merger that slightly trims branch footprint but helps clear integration/overlap issues. Sunwest Bank acquires former MidwestOne and Bank of Denver branches
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces note that the MidWestOne acquisition doubled NIC’s branch footprint and assets (~$15.6B) but integration risk and a stretched valuation (2.44x TBV, forward P/E above peers) argue for patience; the tone is cautious (Hold). Nicolet Bankshares Needs Time To Catch Up To Its Valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 EPS of $2.75 missed consensus ($2.98) despite revenue beating estimates; earnings shortfall is the primary near-term catalyst for selling pressure as investors reassess margin/earnings momentum. NIC Q1 earnings and revenues lag estimates (Zacks)
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded NIC from Strong-Buy to Hold, reducing near-term buy-side conviction and contributing to downside pressure. Zacks downgrades NIC to Hold

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.