Short Interest in Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NYSE:NIC) Rises By 21.4%

Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NYSE:NIC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 121,300 shares, an increase of 21.4% from the January 31st total of 99,900 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 48,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Nicolet Bankshares

In related news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 7,609 shares of Nicolet Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $859,817.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 32,831 shares in the company, valued at $3,709,903. This trade represents a 18.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Merkatoris sold 1,000 shares of Nicolet Bankshares stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.27, for a total transaction of $111,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 82,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,148,396.86. This represents a 1.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,836 shares of company stock worth $1,821,913 over the last quarter. 16.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $528,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in Nicolet Bankshares by 858.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 2,617 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,650 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Nicolet Bankshares by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 589,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,399,000 after buying an additional 2,654 shares in the last quarter. 43.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nicolet Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of NIC stock traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $116.97. 61,823 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 51,691. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $111.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.67. 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 has a 12-month low of $75.24 and a 12-month high of $121.52. The company has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Nicolet Bankshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Nicolet Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.95%.

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.