NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

StockNews.com cut shares of NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $49.00 price target on shares of NBT Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of NBT Bancorp from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on shares of NBT Bancorp in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.80.

NBT Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NBTB opened at $46.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.33 and a beta of 0.53. NBT Bancorp has a 1 year low of $32.79 and a 1 year high of $52.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.09.

NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. NBT Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.36% and a net margin of 17.37%. The company had revenue of $202.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.70 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NBT Bancorp will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

NBT Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. NBT Bancorp’s payout ratio is 47.89%.

Insider Activity

In other NBT Bancorp news, Director John H. Watt, Jr. sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.45, for a total value of $909,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 143,101 shares in the company, valued at $6,503,940.45. This represents a 12.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Wiles sold 500 shares of NBT Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.31, for a total value of $25,655.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,406,355.79. The trade was a 1.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 81,694 shares of company stock worth $4,048,185. Corporate insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NBT Bancorp

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of NBT Bancorp by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in NBT Bancorp by 68.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 92,582 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,095,000 after purchasing an additional 37,469 shares during the last quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NBT Bancorp during the third quarter worth $218,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NBT Bancorp by 472.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 74,468 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,379,000 after purchasing an additional 61,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of NBT Bancorp by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,118,410 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,477,000 after buying an additional 10,628 shares in the last quarter. 58.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About NBT Bancorp

NBT Bancorp Inc, a financial holding company, provides commercial banking, retail banking, and wealth management services. Its deposit products include demand deposit, savings, negotiable order of withdrawal, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts. The company's loan portfolio comprises indirect and direct consumer, home equity, mortgages, business banking loans, and commercial loans; commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, agricultural, and commercial construction loans; and residential real estate loans.