Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on WNEB. Hovde Group raised shares of Western New England Bancorp to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Seaport Research Partners upped their price target on shares of Western New England Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Western New England Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Western New England Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.00.

Western New England Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of WNEB opened at $13.42 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $270.01 million, a P/E ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.93. Western New England Bancorp has a 12 month low of $8.52 and a 12 month high of $14.52.

Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $21.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.96 million. Western New England Bancorp had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 7.25%. As a group, analysts predict that Western New England Bancorp will post 1 EPS for the current year.

Western New England Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. Western New England Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 31.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Philip R. Smith sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.17, for a total transaction of $39,510.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $98,735.49. This represents a 28.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 6.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western New England Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 230.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 147,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,770,000 after purchasing an additional 102,770 shares in the last quarter. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Western New England Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,592,000. Teton Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Western New England Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $805,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 156,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,881,000 after acquiring an additional 3,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 141.6% in the 1st quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 17,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 10,358 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.95% of the company’s stock.

Western New England Bancorp Company Profile

Western New England Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Westfield, Massachusetts. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Westfield Bank, the company provides a full suite of commercial and consumer banking services. Its operations focus on serving small to mid-sized businesses, professional practices, and individual customers, with a strategy centered on relationship-driven banking and community involvement.

The company’s core offerings include deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts, along with business cash-management solutions.