Short Interest in NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB) Grows By 34.1%

NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,770,000 shares, an increase of 34.1% from the December 15th total of 1,320,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 221,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.0 days.

NBT Bancorp Stock Performance

NBTB stock traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $47.16. 306,646 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 194,945. NBT Bancorp has a 52 week low of $32.79 and a 52 week high of $52.44. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $49.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61 and a beta of 0.53.

NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $202.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $144.70 million. NBT Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.36% and a net margin of 17.37%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NBT Bancorp will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

NBT Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. NBT Bancorp's payout ratio is 47.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NBTB shares. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of NBT Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on NBT Bancorp from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded NBT Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday. One 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NBT Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John H. Watt, Jr. sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.45, for a total transaction of $909,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 143,101 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,503,940.45. This trade represents a 12.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Amy Wiles sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.10, for a total value of $50,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,398,240.90. This represents a 3.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 81,694 shares of company stock worth $4,048,185 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.32% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NBTB. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 252 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE purchased a new position in shares of NBT Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $57,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of NBT Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $57,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in NBT Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in NBT Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $214,000. 58.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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