NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $51.75.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NBT Bancorp news, EVP Sarah A. Halliday sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.45, for a total value of $242,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,238,575.80. This trade represents a 16.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Heidi M. Hoeller bought 678 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $48.45 per share, for a total transaction of $32,849.10. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $311,872.65. The trade was a 11.77 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,694 shares of company stock valued at $778,535 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NBT Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NBTB. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of NBT Bancorp by 47.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE acquired a new position in shares of NBT Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of NBT Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of NBT Bancorp by 817.7% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,450 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292 shares during the period. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NBT Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Institutional investors own 58.46% of the company’s stock.

NBT Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ NBTB opened at $48.04 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $48.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.11. NBT Bancorp has a 12-month low of $32.79 and a 12-month high of $52.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.23 and a beta of 0.52.

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

NBT Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business 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 2.83%. NBT Bancorp’s payout ratio is 45.95%.

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.