NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. DA Davidson started coverage on NBT Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on NBT Bancorp from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.80.

NBT Bancorp Trading Up 1.2 %

NBTB opened at $47.62 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77 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. NBT Bancorp has a twelve month low of $32.79 and a twelve month high of $52.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.40.

NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $202.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.70 million. NBT Bancorp had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 9.36%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. Analysts predict that NBT Bancorp will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jack H. Webb sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $500,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 45,018 shares in the company, valued at $2,253,601.08. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Wiles sold 1,000 shares of NBT Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.10, for a total value of $50,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 81,694 shares of company stock valued at $4,048,185. 3.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NBT Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NBTB. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE acquired a new position in shares of NBT Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of NBT Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of NBT Bancorp during the third quarter worth $103,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in NBT Bancorp during the second quarter worth $214,000. 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.