This Just In: Analysts Are Boosting Their Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCBS) Outlook for This Year

Celebrations may be in order for Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCBS) shareholders, with the analysts delivering a significant upgrade to their statutory estimates for the company. The consensus statutory numbers for both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) increased, with their view clearly much more bullish on the company's business prospects. The market seems to be pricing in some improvement in the business too, with the stock up 4.6% over the past week, closing at US$92.19. Could this big upgrade push the stock even higher?

Following the upgrade, the most recent consensus for Nicolet Bankshares from its four analysts is for revenues of US$252m in 2022 which, if met, would be a solid 20% increase on its sales over the past 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to soar 36% to US$6.89. Prior to this update, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$202m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$6.29 in 2022. The most recent forecasts are noticeably more optimistic, with a considerable lift to revenue estimates and a lift to earnings per share as well.

See our latest analysis for Nicolet Bankshares

With these upgrades, we're not surprised to see that the analysts have lifted their price target 13% to US$101 per share. Fixating on a single price target can be unwise though, since the consensus target is effectively the average of analyst price targets. As a result, some investors like to look at the range of estimates to see if there are any diverging opinions on the company's valuation. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Nicolet Bankshares at US$100.00 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$94.00. Still, with such a tight range of estimates, it suggests the analysts have a pretty good idea of what they think the company is worth.

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Nicolet Bankshares' past performance and to peers in the same industry. The analysts are definitely expecting Nicolet Bankshares' growth to accelerate, with the forecast 20% annualised growth to the end of 2022 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 13% per annum over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to grow their revenue at 5.0% per year. It seems obvious that, while the growth outlook is brighter than the recent past, the analysts also expect Nicolet Bankshares to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away from this upgrade is that analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates for this year, expecting improving business conditions. Fortunately, analysts also upgraded their revenue estimates, and our data indicates sales are expected to perform better than the wider market. With a serious upgrade to expectations and a rising price target, it might be time to take another look at Nicolet Bankshares.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Nicolet Bankshares going out to 2023, and you can see them free on our platform here..

Another way to search for interesting companies that could be reaching an inflection point is to track whether management are buying or selling, with our free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.