Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NYSE:NIC) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NYSE:NIC) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 74,100 shares, a decrease of 16.6% from the November 15th total of 88,800 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 48,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Nicolet Bankshares Price Performance

Nicolet Bankshares stock opened at $112.15 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27 and a beta of 0.76. Nicolet Bankshares has a 52-week low of $73.00 and a 52-week high of $116.17. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $106.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.13. Nicolet Bankshares had a net margin of 23.35% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The business had revenue of $91.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.50 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Nicolet Bankshares will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Nicolet Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Nicolet Bankshares’s payout ratio is currently 14.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.01, for a total value of $252,525.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 33,315 shares in the company, valued at $3,365,148.15. This represents a 6.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brad Vincent Hutjens sold 1,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.85, for a total value of $110,975.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,674 shares in the company, valued at $2,743,420.90. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 88,507 shares of company stock valued at $9,626,332 over the last quarter. 16.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nicolet Bankshares

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NIC. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Nicolet Bankshares by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 45,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,783,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Nicolet Bankshares by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 65,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,479,000 after purchasing an additional 4,007 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Nicolet Bankshares by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $512,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Nicolet Bankshares during the 2nd quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Anchor Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Nicolet Bankshares by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 23,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,951,000 after acquiring an additional 1,560 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on NIC. Maxim Group upped their target price on Nicolet Bankshares from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Nicolet Bankshares from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.00.

Nicolet Bankshares Company Profile

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.