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

Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NYSE:NIC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 173,500 shares, a growth of 30.9% from the February 28th total of 132,500 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 65,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Nicolet Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NIC traded up $0.84 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $110.15. 54,135 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 67,001. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $114.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.93. Nicolet Bankshares has a 1-year low of $75.24 and a 1-year high of $121.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.72 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.23. Nicolet Bankshares had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 23.83%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Nicolet Bankshares will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nicolet Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. Nicolet Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is 13.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nicolet Bankshares

In other Nicolet Bankshares news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 3,975 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.08, for a total transaction of $469,368.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,579,831.36. This trade represents a 11.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Merkatoris sold 300 shares of Nicolet Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.26, for a total transaction of $34,578.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 81,918 shares in the company, valued at $9,441,868.68. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,527 shares of company stock worth $996,674 in the last ninety days. 16.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NIC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 641,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,325,000 after buying an additional 21,819 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 589,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,399,000 after acquiring an additional 2,654 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 381,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,507,000 after acquiring an additional 13,772 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 303,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,019,000 after purchasing an additional 4,911 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 180,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,907,000 after purchasing an additional 8,698 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 43.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Nicolet Bankshares

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.