Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after Maxim Group raised their price target on the stock from $161.00 to $173.00. Maxim Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Nicolet Bankshares traded as high as $145.20 and last traded at $144.84, with a volume of 547837 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $131.43.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on NIC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $145.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised shares of Nicolet Bankshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nicolet Bankshares currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.67.

Insider Activity at Nicolet Bankshares

In related news, Director Robert J. Weyers purchased 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $115.73 per share, for a total transaction of $347,190.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 26,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,037,912.50. The trade was a 12.90% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Hubert Phillip Moore, Jr. purchased 240 shares of Nicolet Bankshares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $115.84 per share, with a total value of $27,801.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 32,947 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,816,580.48. This represents a 0.73% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 3,370 shares of company stock worth $390,760. 16.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nicolet Bankshares

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC lifted its position in Nicolet Bankshares by 1.8% during the second quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 5,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $688,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Nicolet Bankshares by 71.8% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Nicolet Bankshares by 45.1% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Nicolet Bankshares by 0.8% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 26,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,537,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 43.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nicolet Bankshares Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $127.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $2.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.18. Nicolet Bankshares had a return on equity of 12.65% and a net margin of 26.98%.The firm had revenue of $80.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.67 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nicolet Bankshares Inc. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nicolet Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Nicolet Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is 13.06%.

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.