Northeast Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:NECB) Upgraded at Freedom Capital

Northeast Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:NECB) was upgraded by analysts at Freedom Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

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 analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Northeast Community Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NECB opened at $24.21 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $334.92 million, a PE ratio of 7.43 and a beta of 0.41. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $23.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.24. Northeast Community Bancorp has a 12-month low of $19.27 and a 12-month high of $25.18.

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

Northeast Community Bancorp announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, December 8th that permits the company to buyback $1.40 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the savings and loans company to repurchase up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northeast Community Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northeast Community Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Northeast Community Bancorp by 193.8% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,457 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 961 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in Northeast Community Bancorp by 109.9% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Northeast Community Bancorp by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,821 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northeast Community Bancorp by 4,381.1% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,316 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 3,242 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 53.25% of the company’s stock.

About Northeast Community Bancorp

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.