Sifting through countless of stocks in the Banks industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in City Holding Company or NBT Bancorp Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how City Holding Company and NBT Bancorp Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About City Holding Company and NBT Bancorp Inc.

City Holding Company operates as a financial holding company for City National Bank of West Virginia that provides banking, trust and investment management, and other financial solutions in the United States. It offers checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and individual retirement accounts. The company also provides commercial and industrial loans that consist of loans to corporate and other legal entity borrowers primarily in small to mid-size industrial and commercial companies; commercial real estate loans comprising commercial mortgages, which are secured by nonresidential and multi-family residential properties; residential real estate loans to consumers for the purchase or refinance of residence; first-priority home equity loans; home equity lines of credit; amortized home equity loans; consumer loans that are secured and unsecured by automobiles, boats, recreational vehicles, certificates of deposit, and other personal property; and demand deposit account overdrafts, as well as owner-occupied real estate and construction, land development, and lines of credit. In addition, it offers mortgage banking services, including fixed and adjustable-rate mortgages, construction financing, land loans, production of conventional and government-insured mortgages, secondary marketing, and mortgage servicing. Further, the company provides treasury management, lockbox, and other cash management services; merchant credit card services; wealth management, trust, investment, and custodial services for commercial and individual customers; and corporate trust and institutional custody, financial and estate planning, and retirement plan services, as well as automated-teller-machine, interactive-teller-machine, mobile banking, interactive voice response systems, and credit and debit card services. The company was founded in 1957 and is headquartered in Charleston, West Virginia.

NBT Bancorp Inc., a financial holding company, provides personal and commercial banking, retail banking, and wealth management services in the United States. It operates through Banking, Retirement Plan Administration, and All Other segments. The company offers demand deposit, savings, interest-bearing checking, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts; and indirect and direct consumer loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, residential mortgages, business banking loans, commercial and industrial loans, agricultural loans, commercial construction loans, commercial real estate loans, indirect auto loans, and other consumer loans, as well as agricultural lending, personal lines of credit, overdraft protection, and second mortgage loans. It also provides trust and investment services; financial planning and life insurance services; and retirement plan and health savings account recordkeeping and administration, and actuarial services. In addition, the company offers insurance products, such as personal property and casualty, business liability, and commercial insurance; and other products and services through a network of ATM locations and 24-hour online, mobile, and telephone channels that enable customers to check balances, make deposits, transfer funds, pay bills, access statements, apply for loans, and access various other products and services. Further, it operates as a property management and passive investment company, as well as investment advisor that provides investment management and financial consulting services. The company serves retail, commercial, and municipal customers. It operates in upstate New York, northeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Hampshire, western Massachusetts, Vermont, southern Maine, and central and northwestern Connecticut. NBT Bancorp Inc. was founded in 1856 and is headquartered in Norwich, New York.

Latest Banks and City Holding Company, NBT Bancorp Inc. Stock News

As of August 21, 2026, City Holding Company had a $2.0 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $745.4 million. City Holding Company’s stock is up 21.6% in 2026, down 0.5% in the previous five trading days and up 16.84% in the past year.

Currently, City Holding Company’s price-earnings ratio is 15.8. City Holding Company’s trailing 12-month revenue is $320.5 million with a 41.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 0.9%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $9.264 per share for the current fiscal year. City Holding Company currently has a 2.4% dividend yield.

As of August 21, 2026, NBT Bancorp Inc. had a $2.7 billion market cap, putting it in the 58th percentile of all stocks. NBT Bancorp Inc.’s stock is up 25.8% in 2026, down 2% in the previous five trading days and up 22.59% in the past year.

Currently, NBT Bancorp Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 12.8. NBT Bancorp Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $723.8 million with a 29.6% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 17.8%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $4.175 per share for the current fiscal year. NBT Bancorp Inc. currently has a 2.8% dividend yield.

How We Compare City Holding Company and NBT Bancorp Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at City Holding Company and NBT Bancorp Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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City Holding Company and NBT Bancorp Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
City Holding Company	CHCO	A
NBT Bancorp Inc.	NBTB	A

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

City Holding Company has a Growth Score of 100, which is Very Strong. NBT Bancorp Inc. has a Growth Score of 89, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Growth Grade breakdown above, both City Holding Company and NBT Bancorp Inc. have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s upward growth, further research should be conducted into both companies’ other financial metrics before deciding whether to invest.

City Holding Company and NBT Bancorp Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
City Holding Company	CHCO	D
NBT Bancorp Inc.	NBTB	F

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

City Holding Company has a Quality Score of 34, which is Weak. NBT Bancorp Inc. has a Quality Score of 20, which is Very Weak.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither City Holding Company or NBT Bancorp Inc. has a high enough Quality Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if City Holding Company or NBT Bancorp Inc. is the better investment when it comes to quality.

City Holding Company and NBT Bancorp Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
City Holding Company	CHCO	C
NBT Bancorp Inc.	NBTB	B

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

City Holding Company has a Momentum Score of 59, which is Average. NBT Bancorp Inc. has a Momentum Score of 61, which is Strong.

The Momentum Grade Winner: NBT Bancorp Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Momentum Grade breakdown above, NBT Bancorp Inc. is considered to have stronger momentum compared to City Holding Company. For those specifically looking for companies that have stronger momentum compared to other companies in the same industry, NBT Bancorp Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other City Holding Company and NBT Bancorp Inc. Grades

In addition to Quality, Growth and Momentum, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Estimate Revisions.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether City Holding Company and NBT Bancorp Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, City Holding Company or NBT Bancorp Inc. Stock?

Overall, City Holding Company stock has a Growth Score of 100, Momentum Score of 59 and Quality Score of 34.

NBT Bancorp Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 89, Momentum Score of 61 and Quality Score of 20.

Comparing City Holding Company and NBT Bancorp Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.