Short Interest in Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NYSE:NIC) Rises By 30.9%

Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NYSE:NIC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 173,500 shares, an increase of 30.9% from the February 28th total of 132,500 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 65,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Nicolet Bankshares Stock Performance

Nicolet Bankshares stock traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $109.70. 49,536 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 50,387. Nicolet Bankshares has a fifty-two week low of $75.24 and a fifty-two week high of $121.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.23. Nicolet Bankshares had a net margin of 23.83% and a return on equity of 10.95%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Nicolet Bankshares will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nicolet Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Nicolet Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.95%.

Insider Activity at Nicolet Bankshares

In related news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 3,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.08, for a total transaction of $469,368.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 30,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,579,831.36. This trade represents a 11.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Merkatoris sold 1,000 shares of Nicolet Bankshares stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $9,148,396.86. This trade represents a 1.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,527 shares of company stock valued at $996,674 over the last ninety days. 16.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nicolet Bankshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 23,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,450,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Nicolet Bankshares by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 8,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Nicolet Bankshares by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Research Inc. raised its position in Nicolet Bankshares by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Research Inc. now owns 44,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,692,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Nicolet Bankshares by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $610,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.