Northeast Community Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NECB) Short Interest Update

Northeast Community Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NECB) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 113,660 shares, a growth of 34.6% from the February 26th total of 84,473 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 38,489 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded Northeast Community Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northeast Community Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Northeast Community Bancorp Trading Down 1.2%

Northeast Community Bancorp stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $23.45. 27,512 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 39,391. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.18. Northeast Community Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $19.27 and a fifty-two week high of $25.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $324.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.19 and a beta of 0.41.

Northeast Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:NECB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $26.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.15 million. Northeast Community Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 28.07%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Northeast Community Bancorp will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Northeast Community Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 6th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Northeast Community Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 24.54%.

Northeast Community Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, December 8th that allows the company to repurchase $1.40 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the savings and loans company to buy up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northeast Community Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northeast Community Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,779,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Northeast Community Bancorp by 261.8% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 162,916 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $3,819,000 after purchasing an additional 117,888 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Northeast Community Bancorp by 7.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 69,058 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,619,000 after purchasing an additional 4,741 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Northeast Community Bancorp by 78.3% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 25,696 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 11,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Northeast Community Bancorp by 4.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 311,695 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $7,247,000 after buying an additional 12,204 shares during the last quarter. 53.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northeast Community Bancorp Company Profile

Northeast Community Bancorp is the bank holding company for Northeast Bank, a full-service community bank headquartered in DeKalb, Illinois. Through its principal subsidiary, the company provides a range of deposit and lending products designed to meet the financial needs of individuals, families and small to mid-sized businesses in the northern Illinois market.

The company’s loan portfolio encompasses consumer and mortgage lending, home equity lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, SBA-guaranteed loans and agricultural credits.