Zacks Research Downgrades Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) to Hold

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

NIC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Hovde Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Maxim Group lifted their price objective on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $161.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Nicolet Bankshares from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $148.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.00.

Nicolet Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of Nicolet Bankshares stock traded down $6.71 during trading on Monday, reaching $148.15. 177,464 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 195,339. The company has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.12 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Nicolet Bankshares has a 52-week low of $114.11 and a 52-week high of $163.11.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.23). Nicolet Bankshares had a net margin of 26.98% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The firm had revenue of $134.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $129.74 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Nicolet Bankshares will post 12.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 6,396 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.47, for a total transaction of $994,386.12. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 34,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,375.38. This represents a 15.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,036 shares of company stock worth $1,992,022. Corporate insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nicolet Bankshares

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Nicolet Bankshares by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 737,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,468,000 after purchasing an additional 22,474 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Nicolet Bankshares by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 540,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,695,000 after purchasing an additional 21,473 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Nicolet Bankshares by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 458,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,643,000 after purchasing an additional 26,893 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Nicolet Bankshares by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 199,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,789,000 after purchasing an additional 57,536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Nicolet Bankshares by 91.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 120,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,582,000 after purchasing an additional 57,280 shares during the last quarter. 43.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Nicolet Bankshares News

Here are the key news stories impacting Nicolet Bankshares this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Broker support remains: Piper Sandler kept an “overweight” rating on NIC (though trimmed its price target slightly to $183), implying about a ~22.9% upside from the referenced price — this lends upward pressure by signaling continued analyst confidence. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase: Nicolet declared a quarterly dividend of $0.36 (a 12.5% raise from $0.32), translating to roughly a 0.9% yield on an annualized basis — dividend hikes often support the share price by improving income investor appeal and signalling board confidence in cash flow.
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue beat: The quarter showed revenue of $134.85M versus consensus ~$129.7M, which is positive for top-line momentum but was overshadowed by the EPS miss (see below). Zacks earnings article
• Neutral Sentiment: Merger context: Market commentary flagged investor focus on results in the wake of the MidWestOne merger — analysts and investors will be watching integration metrics and cost synergies as drivers of future earnings. Investing.com
• Negative Sentiment: EPS miss: NIC reported Q1 EPS of $2.75, missing the consensus of $2.98 — an earnings shortfall that is the primary near-term negative catalyst and likely the main reason for downward pressure. Zacks earnings article
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade: Zacks Research moved NIC from “strong-buy” to “hold,” removing some buy-side conviction and adding selling pressure or reduced demand from model-driven funds. Zacks.com TickerReport

About Nicolet Bankshares

Nicolet Bankshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Through its subsidiary, Nicolet National Bank, it provides a range of commercial and consumer banking services to businesses, individuals and nonprofit organizations across northeastern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The company’s branch network, digital banking platform and commercial lending centers support its focus on community banking and regional growth.

The company offers deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside consumer and commercial lending solutions.