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

Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $174.74 and last traded at $173.51, with a volume of 140545 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $170.92.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NIC. Hovde Group lowered their target price on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Nicolet Bankshares from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Nicolet Bankshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Nicolet Bankshares in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $194.00 price objective on Nicolet Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.00.

Nicolet Bankshares Trading Up 1.5%

The firm has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.69 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $156.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.85 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $177.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $171.93 million. Nicolet Bankshares had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 11.36%. Equities analysts expect that Nicolet Bankshares Inc. will post 12.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nicolet Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Nicolet Bankshares’s payout ratio is 16.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 2,662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.24, for a total value of $453,178.88. Following the transaction, the director owned 34,483 shares in the company, valued at $5,870,385.92. This trade represents a 7.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Eric James Witczak sold 1,215 shares of Nicolet Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.89, for a total value of $203,986.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 33,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,646,140.70. This represents a 3.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 4,219 shares of company stock valued at $715,976 in the last three months. Insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nicolet Bankshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 150.8% in 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Nicolet Bankshares by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,557 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Nicolet Bankshares by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $886,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Nicolet Bankshares by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 29,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,245,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 3,940.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 202 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.