NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) Upgraded at Stephens

Stephens upgraded shares of NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $53.00 target price on the bank’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on NBTB. StockNews.com cut NBT Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of NBT Bancorp from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson began 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 for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.75.

NBT Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ NBTB opened at $47.63 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of 16.09 and a beta of 0.53. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.05. NBT Bancorp has a 52 week low of $32.79 and a 52 week high of $52.44.

NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.01). NBT Bancorp had a net margin of 17.84% and a return on equity of 9.39%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. Research analysts predict that NBT Bancorp will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

NBT Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. NBT Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NBT Bancorp

In other NBT Bancorp news, Director Timothy E. Delaney sold 40,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 shares were sold at an average price of $50.10, for a total transaction of $50,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,909 shares in the company, valued at $1,398,240.90. The trade was a 3.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 61,694 shares of company stock worth $3,139,185 over the last three months. 3.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NBT Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NBTB. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in NBT Bancorp by 47.9% in 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 last quarter. US Bancorp DE purchased a new stake in NBT Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in NBT Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in NBT Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $98,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in NBT Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.46% of the company’s stock.

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.