NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on NBTB. DA Davidson began coverage on NBT Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $49.00 target price on shares of NBT Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of NBT Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.17.

NBT Bancorp Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06 and a beta of 0.52. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.78.

NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $202.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.70 million. NBT Bancorp had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 9.36%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NBT Bancorp Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

NBT Bancorp 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 issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. NBT Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 47.89%.

Insider Activity at NBT Bancorp

In related news, EVP Amy Wiles sold 1,000 shares of NBT Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.10, for a total transaction of $50,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,398,240.90. This trade represents a 3.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John H. Watt, Jr. sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $6,503,940.45. This trade represents a 12.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 81,694 shares of company stock valued at $4,048,185 in the last 90 days. 3.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NBT Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NBTB. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of NBT Bancorp by 47.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE acquired a new stake in shares of NBT Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in NBT Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in NBT Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $103,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in NBT Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $214,000. Institutional investors own 58.46% of the company’s stock.

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.