Short Interest in Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NYSE:NIC) Decreases By 22.6%

Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NYSE:NIC) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 140,900 shares, a decline of 22.6% from the October 15th total of 182,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 46,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nicolet Bankshares news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 14,171 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.00, for a total value of $1,459,613.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 33,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,431,445. This represents a 29.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brad Vincent Hutjens sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.30, for a total transaction of $691,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,674 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,512.20. The trade was a 18.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 69,156 shares of company stock valued at $7,324,308. 16.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nicolet Bankshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares in the second quarter worth $67,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its position in Nicolet Bankshares by 97.3% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $155,000. Blair William & Co. IL purchased a new position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares in the 1st quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nicolet Bankshares in the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.06% of the company’s stock.

Nicolet Bankshares Price Performance

NYSE NIC traded up $0.05 on Friday, hitting $111.84. The stock had a trading volume of 33,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 70,300. Nicolet Bankshares has a 52-week low of $72.70 and a 52-week high of $116.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.23 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $99.88 and a 200-day moving average of $91.35.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.13. Nicolet Bankshares had a net margin of 23.35% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $91.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.50 million. Equities analysts expect that Nicolet Bankshares will post 7.74 EPS for the current year.

Nicolet Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Nicolet Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Maxim Group upped their price target on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nicolet Bankshares has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.00.

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.