NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Thursday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on NBTB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target 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 started coverage on NBT Bancorp in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.80.

NBT Bancorp Stock Performance

NBT Bancorp stock opened at $47.86 on Thursday. NBT Bancorp has a 1 year low of $32.79 and a 1 year high of $52.44. The company’s 50-day moving average is $49.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.53. 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 cap of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of 16.85 and a beta of 0.53.

NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. NBT Bancorp had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 9.36%. The firm had revenue of $202.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.70 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that NBT Bancorp will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

NBT Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. NBT Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.89%.

Insider Activity at NBT Bancorp

In related news, EVP Amy Wiles sold 500 shares of NBT Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.31, for a total transaction of $25,655.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,406,355.79. This trade represents a 1.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy E. Delaney sold 40,000 shares of NBT Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total value of $2,058,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 38,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,999,763.91. This represents a 50.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 81,694 shares of company stock valued at $4,048,185. 3.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of NBT Bancorp by 47.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing 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 during the 3rd quarter worth $57,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of NBT Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $103,000. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in NBT Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $217,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.