NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) Stock Rating Lowered by Stephens

Stephens lowered shares of NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Stephens currently has $49.00 price objective on the bank’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $42.00.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Raymond James downgraded NBT Bancorp from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on NBT Bancorp from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NBT Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $42.60.

NBT Bancorp Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NBTB opened at $49.84 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.24 and a beta of 0.52. NBT Bancorp has a one year low of $30.31 and a one year high of $50.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $39.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.91.

NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.01). NBT Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.64% and a net margin of 16.15%. The firm had revenue of $194.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $139.02 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that NBT Bancorp will post 2.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NBT Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. This is a boost from NBT Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. NBT Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Sarah A. Halliday sold 1,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.66, for a total value of $47,249.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,455.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NBT Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in NBT Bancorp by 69.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 671 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of NBT Bancorp by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 18,103 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of NBT Bancorp by 1.7% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,700 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its stake in shares of NBT Bancorp by 1.3% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 41,211 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,512,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in NBT Bancorp by 6.9% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 9,759 shares of the bank’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. 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.