Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NYSE:NIC) Short Interest Down 24.2% in December

Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NYSE:NIC) was the target of a large decline in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 56,200 shares, a decline of 24.2% from the November 30th total of 74,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 49,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days. Approximately 0.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nicolet Bankshares

In related news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 3,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $389,398.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 32,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,709,903. This represents a 9.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brad Vincent Hutjens sold 1,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.85, for a total value of $110,975.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,743,420.90. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 88,507 shares of company stock worth $9,626,332. 16.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nicolet Bankshares

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its position in Nicolet Bankshares by 0.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 589,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,399,000 after purchasing an additional 2,654 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 587,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,783,000 after buying an additional 16,952 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 381,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,507,000 after buying an additional 13,772 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Nicolet Bankshares by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 303,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,019,000 after acquiring an additional 4,911 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Nicolet Bankshares by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,132,000 after acquiring an additional 3,650 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.06% of the company’s stock.

Nicolet Bankshares Stock Down 2.2 %

Nicolet Bankshares stock traded down $2.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $104.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 30,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 43,518. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $108.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.49. Nicolet Bankshares has a 52-week low of $73.00 and a 52-week high of $116.17.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.13. Nicolet Bankshares had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 23.35%. The company had revenue of $91.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.50 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Nicolet Bankshares will post 7.61 EPS for the current year.

Nicolet Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Nicolet Bankshares’s payout ratio is 14.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NIC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Nicolet Bankshares from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Maxim Group raised their price target on Nicolet Bankshares from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.00.

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.