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

Shares of Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $148.49 and last traded at $148.15, with a volume of 13770 shares. The stock had previously closed at $145.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NIC shares. Maxim Group lifted their price objective on Nicolet Bankshares from $161.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nicolet Bankshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Nicolet Bankshares from $145.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.25.

Nicolet Bankshares Trading Up 1.5%

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $130.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.12 and a beta of 0.78.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $2.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.18. Nicolet Bankshares had a net margin of 26.98% and a return on equity of 12.65%. The company had revenue of $103.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.67 million. Equities research analysts expect that Nicolet Bankshares Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

Nicolet Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors 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 yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Nicolet Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nicolet Bankshares

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NIC. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 50.6% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 519,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,088,000 after purchasing an additional 174,361 shares in the last quarter. Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,553,000. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 141,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,609,000 after acquiring an additional 2,779 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 3.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 60,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,409,000 after purchasing an additional 1,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Nicolet Bankshares by 8.6% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. 43.06% of the stock is 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.