NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $52.39 and last traded at $52.33, with a volume of 292958 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $51.66.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on NBTB shares. 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 research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $49.00 price target on shares of NBT Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com raised NBT Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on NBT Bancorp in a research note on Thursday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.17.

NBT Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.32 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87.

NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.80 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 firm had revenue of $202.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that NBT Bancorp Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

NBT Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. NBT Bancorp’s payout ratio is 47.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jack H. Webb sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total transaction of $500,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 45,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,253,601.08. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John H. Watt, Jr. sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.45, for a total transaction of $909,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 143,101 shares in the company, valued at $6,503,940.45. The trade was a 12.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 81,694 shares of company stock valued at $4,048,185. Insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NBT Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in NBT Bancorp by 540.2% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 703,286 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,147,000 after purchasing an additional 593,436 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of NBT Bancorp by 36.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 629,715 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $24,307,000 after buying an additional 169,180 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of NBT Bancorp by 76.3% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 378,898 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,759,000 after buying an additional 163,952 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its position in NBT Bancorp by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 828,440 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,978,000 after acquiring an additional 107,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its position in NBT Bancorp by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 309,300 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,680,000 after acquiring an additional 89,800 shares in the last quarter. 58.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NBT Bancorp Company Profile

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.