Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) Stock Price Down 6.5% on Disappointing Earnings

Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC) fell 6.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $143.25 and last traded at $144.7750. 266,474 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 35% from the average session volume of 196,831 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.86.

The company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $134.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $129.74 million. Nicolet Bankshares had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 26.98%.

Nicolet Bankshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This is a positive change from Nicolet Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Nicolet Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Key Headlines Impacting Nicolet Bankshares

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

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler kept an “overweight” rating and set a $183 target (slightly lowered from $185), implying roughly a 24% upside from the current level — supports medium-term upside thesis. Benzinga report on Piper Sandler
• Positive Sentiment: Nicolet raised its quarterly dividend from $0.32 to $0.36 (12.5% increase), increasing the annualized yield to ~1.0% — signals shareholder-return discipline and helps offset near-term earnings concerns.
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue for the quarter beat estimates ($134.85M vs. $129.74M), which is supportive of top-line momentum even as profitability metrics drew scrutiny. MarketBeat summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and media are flagging the recent MidWestOne merger as a lens for the earnings print, so investors are parsing one-off merger effects vs. underlying franchise performance. Investing.com: Earnings in focus after MidWestOne merger
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 EPS missed consensus: $2.75 reported vs. $2.98 expected (a $0.23 miss). The EPS shortfall is the primary near-term negative catalyst driving selling pressure. Zacks: Q1 earnings and revenues lag estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded NIC from “strong-buy” to “hold,” removing a supportive buy-side recommendation and likely amplifying selling by investors who follow Zacks ratings. Zacks downgradeTickerReport coverage

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on NIC. Hovde Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $185.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research cut shares of Nicolet Bankshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Maxim Group boosted their target price on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $161.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nicolet Bankshares has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.00.

Insider Activity at Nicolet Bankshares

In other Nicolet Bankshares news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 6,396 shares of Nicolet Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,294,375.38. This trade represents a 15.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 13,036 shares of company stock worth $1,992,022 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nicolet Bankshares

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Nicolet Bankshares by 3,940.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 192.9% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 45.1% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 43.06% of the company’s stock.

Nicolet Bankshares Stock Down 6.9%

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $151.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Nicolet Bankshares Company Profile

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.