NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research 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. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $51.75.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on NBT Bancorp from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens upgraded shares of NBT Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of NBT Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of NBT Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th.

NBT Bancorp Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NBTB opened at $49.02 on Friday. NBT Bancorp has a 12-month low of $32.79 and a 12-month high of $52.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.11.

NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.01). NBT Bancorp had a net margin of 17.84% and a return on equity of 9.39%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that NBT Bancorp will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NBT Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. NBT Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.95%.

Insider Activity at NBT Bancorp

In other news, Director John H. Watt, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.40, for a total transaction of $494,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 125,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,189,869.40. This trade represents a 7.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Wiles sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.31, for a total transaction of $25,655.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,406,355.79. The trade was a 1.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,694 shares of company stock worth $3,089,085 in the last ninety days. 3.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NBT Bancorp

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NBT Bancorp by 53.0% in the fourth quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC now owns 66,035 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,154,000 after acquiring an additional 22,865 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in NBT Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $23,651,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in NBT Bancorp by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 666,562 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,835,000 after purchasing an additional 50,152 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of NBT Bancorp by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 595,349 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,434,000 after purchasing an additional 9,713 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of NBT Bancorp by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,755 shares of the bank’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.46% of the company’s stock.

About NBT Bancorp

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.