Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son (NYSE:NTB) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

Zacks Research lowered shares of Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son (NYSE:NTB) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

NTB has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $50.00 target price (down from $54.00) on shares of Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.67.

Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Price Performance

NTB opened at $50.09 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.42. The firm has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 0.57. Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son has a 1 year low of $34.77 and a 1 year high of $52.11.

Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son (NYSE:NTB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The bank reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.21. Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son had a return on equity of 21.94% and a net margin of 28.27%.The firm had revenue of $153.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $147.92 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son will post 4.4 EPS for the current year.

Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, December 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $140.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son’s payout ratio is currently 37.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTB. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,327 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Strs Ohio grew its stake in Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son by 1.6% in the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 18,900 shares of the bank’s stock worth $811,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son by 5.6% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 6,162 shares of the bank’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc lifted its position in Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son by 284.4% during the third quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 615 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son by 3.2% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,779 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

About Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son

Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited, commonly known as Butterfield, is a Bermuda-based provider of banking and wealth management services. Founded in 1858, the firm has grown from a local colonial bank into an international financial institution. With a focus on personalized client service, Butterfield offers a comprehensive suite of banking and fiduciary solutions to private individuals, families, and corporate clients.

The bank’s core activities include private banking, retail and commercial lending, trust and corporate administration, and fund services.