Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NYSE:NIC) Short Interest Update

Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NYSE:NIC) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 121,300 shares, a growth of 21.4% from the January 31st total of 99,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 48,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Susan L. Merkatoris sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.27, for a total value of $111,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 82,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,148,396.86. This represents a 1.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 7,609 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $859,817.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 32,831 shares in the company, valued at $3,709,903. This represents a 18.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,836 shares of company stock worth $1,821,913. Company insiders own 16.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NIC. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 748.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Nicolet Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $128,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $155,000. 43.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nicolet Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of NIC opened at $116.97 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $111.76 and a 200-day moving average of $105.75. Nicolet Bankshares has a 1 year low of $75.24 and a 1 year high of $121.52. The company has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.23. Nicolet Bankshares had a net margin of 23.83% and a return on equity of 10.95%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Nicolet Bankshares will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nicolet Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. Nicolet Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Nicolet Bankshares from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Nicolet Bankshares from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Maxim Group lifted their target price on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Nicolet Bankshares Company Profile

Nicolet Bankshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Nicolet National Bank that provides banking products and services for businesses and individuals in Wisconsin and Michigan. The company accepts checking, savings, and money market accounts; various certificates of deposit; and individual retirement accounts.