DA Davidson Raises Earnings Projections for NBT Bancorp in FY2025

NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB) has received an upgrade in earnings expectations for the fiscal year 2025. Equities researchers at DA Davidson published their revised estimates in a report released on January 30th. Analyst M. Navas now projects that NBT Bancorp will achieve earnings of $4.25 per share, which is a significant increase from the previous estimate of $3.42 per share. With this positive outlook, DA Davidson has issued a "Strong-Buy" rating for NBT Bancorp.

The current consensus among analysts for NBT Bancorp's full-year earnings stands at $3.46 per share. Earlier this week, on January 27th, the bank reported its quarterly earnings results. For the quarter, NBT Bancorp achieved earnings per share of $0.77, falling short of the analysts’ average expectation of $0.78 by $0.01. The bank's performance showed a net margin of 17.84% and a return on equity of 9.39%. This reflects improvement compared to the same quarter from the previous year, where they reported $0.72 earnings per share.

Recent research activities regarding NBT Bancorp have yielded mixed updates. On January 29th, Stephens upgraded the company from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating, setting a target price of $53.00. Meanwhile, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price from $50.00 to $55.00 while maintaining a “market perform” rating. Conversely, StockNews.com downgraded NBT Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report dated January 16th. Among analysts, one provided a “sell” rating, two assigned a “hold” rating, two recommended buying, and one has a strong buy suggestion. The overall consensus rating for the company currently is "Moderate Buy," with a consensus price target of $51.75.

Stock Performance of NBT Bancorp

As of Monday, NBT Bancorp shares opened at $47.63. The stock has seen a fifty-two week low of $32.79 and a high of $52.44. Key financial ratios include a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.87, and a current ratio of 0.87. Over the past fifty days, the stock holds an average price of $48.68, while the two-hundred day average is $47.07. The market capitalization of NBT Bancorp stands at $2.25 billion with a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09 and a beta of 0.53.

Institutional Investor Activity

Recent changes in ownership show that several hedge funds and institutional investors have adjusted their holdings of NBT Bancorp. The New York State Common Retirement Fund reported a 14.4% increase in their stakes during the fourth quarter, now holding 15,887 shares valued at $759,000. Other notable changes include a new position acquired by Sanctuary Advisors, expected to be worth approximately $284,000. Principal Financial Group raised its ownership by 2.9%, now boasting 228,699 shares valued at $10.9 million. Also, Legato Capital Management increased its holdings by 102.7% in the same quarter. Institutional and hedge funds collectively own over 58% of NBT Bancorp's stock.

Insider Transactions

In insider news, Director Timothy E. Delaney executed a significant sale of 40,000 shares on November 11th, 2024, at an average price of $51.47, totaling $2,058,800. This sale reduced his direct ownership to approximately 38,853 shares valued at nearly $2 million. Additionally, EVP Amy Wiles sold 500 shares on December 13th, valued at around $25,655. This marked a 1.79% decline in her ownership. In total, company insiders sold 61,694 shares worth approximately $3.14 million during the last quarter, with corporate insiders collectively owning about 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Dividend Announcement

In related news, NBT Bancorp has announced a quarterly dividend to be paid on March 17th, 2025. Investors who hold shares on March 3rd will receive $0.34 per share, which translates to an annualized dividend of $1.36 and a yield of 2.86%. Currently, the company's dividend payout ratio is reported at 45.95%.

About NBT Bancorp

NBT Bancorp Inc. is a financial holding company that provides a wide array of banking and wealth management services. These services include commercial banking, retail banking, and a variety of deposit products such as demand deposit accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. Its loan portfolio encompasses consumer loans, home equity loans, mortgages, business loans, and loans for agricultural and commercial purposes.

NBTB, Earnings, Stocks