Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Analysts

Shares of Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the four brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $15.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Western New England Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Western New England Bancorp in a report on Friday, August 7th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Western New England Bancorp from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners lowered Western New England Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th.

Western New England Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of WNEB stock opened at $13.51 on Friday. Western New England Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $10.78 and a fifty-two week high of $15.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $270.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.74.

Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $27.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.74 million. Western New England Bancorp had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 6.78%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Western New England Bancorp will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western New England Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were issued a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Western New England Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Philip Smith sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.88, for a total value of $45,804.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,800 shares in the company, valued at $80,504. This trade represents a 36.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 6.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western New England Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,636,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Western New England Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $1,516,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Western New England Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,266,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Western New England Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $968,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Western New England Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $829,000. 67.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Western New England Bancorp

Western New England Bancorp, Inc is the holding company for Westfield Bank, a community bank headquartered in Westfield, Massachusetts. Through its banking subsidiary, the company provides financial services to individuals, families and businesses in western Massachusetts and northern Connecticut.

Westfield Bank offers deposit products, including checking, savings, money market and time deposit accounts, as well as residential mortgage, commercial real estate, commercial business and consumer loans.