Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NIC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nicolet Bankshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $145.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $158.00.

Nicolet Bankshares Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.78 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $126.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.35.

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

Nicolet Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Nicolet Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.70%.

Insider Activity

In other Nicolet Bankshares news, CFO Hubert Phillip Moore, Jr. purchased 240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $115.84 per share, for a total transaction of $27,801.60. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 32,947 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,816,580.48. This trade represents a 0.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert J. Weyers purchased 3,000 shares of Nicolet Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $115.73 per share, with a total value of $347,190.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 26,250 shares in the company, valued at $3,037,912.50. This trade represents a 12.90% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 3,370 shares of company stock valued at $390,760. 16.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NIC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Nicolet Bankshares by 3,940.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 202 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 45.1% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 589 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in Nicolet Bankshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $80,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Nicolet Bankshares in the 2nd quarter valued at about $126,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.06% of the company’s stock.

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.