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

Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $162.00 and last traded at $163.2040, with a volume of 435242 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $158.67.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NIC shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Hovde Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nicolet Bankshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Nicolet Bankshares from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $148.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nicolet Bankshares presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.50.

Nicolet Bankshares Stock Up 0.5%

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $138.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $132.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.00 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $2.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $103.99 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Nicolet Bankshares Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

Nicolet Bankshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Nicolet Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nicolet Bankshares news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 6,396 shares of Nicolet Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.47, for a total value of $994,386.12. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 34,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,375.38. This trade represents a 15.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 14.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nicolet Bankshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NIC. PDT Partners LLC increased its stake in Nicolet Bankshares by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 5,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $688,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 71.8% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Nicolet Bankshares by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 23,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,829,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. 43.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nicolet Bankshares Company Profile

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.