NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday morning.

NBTB has been the topic of several other reports. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of NBT Bancorp in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on NBT Bancorp from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $49.00 price target on shares of NBT Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.17.

NBT Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NBTB opened at $48.88 on Thursday. 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 has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21 and a beta of 0.52. NBT Bancorp has a 12 month low of $32.79 and a 12 month high of $52.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $48.28 and a 200-day moving average of $44.98.

NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $202.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NBT Bancorp will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

NBT Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. NBT Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NBT Bancorp

In related news, Director Timothy E. Delaney sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total transaction of $2,058,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,853 shares in the company, valued at $1,999,763.91. This represents a 50.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John H. Watt, Jr. sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.45, for a total value of $909,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 143,101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,503,940.45. This trade represents a 12.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 81,694 shares of company stock valued at $4,048,185. 3.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of NBT Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NBTB. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of NBT Bancorp by 47.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE acquired a new position in shares of NBT Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $57,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in NBT Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in NBT Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in NBT Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $217,000. 58.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.