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

NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $52.39 and last traded at $52.33, with a volume of 292958 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.66.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NBTB shares. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $49.00 price objective on shares of NBT Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of NBT Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of NBT Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of NBT Bancorp from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.17.

NBT Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.78. The firm has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06 and a beta of 0.52.

NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $202.00 million during 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 period last year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that NBT Bancorp Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

NBT Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. NBT Bancorp’s payout ratio is 47.89%.

Insider Activity at NBT Bancorp

In related news, Director John H. Watt, Jr. sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.45, for a total transaction of $909,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 143,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,503,940.45. The trade was a 12.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Wiles sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.10, for a total transaction of $50,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,398,240.90. The trade was a 3.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 81,694 shares of company stock worth $4,048,185. 3.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NBT Bancorp

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NBTB. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in NBT Bancorp by 47.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in NBT Bancorp by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,199 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in NBT Bancorp by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 9,378 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in NBT Bancorp by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,700 shares of the bank’s stock worth $915,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE acquired a new position in NBT Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $57,000. Institutional investors 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.