Amalgamated Financial (NASDAQ:AMAL) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Amalgamated Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:AMAL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $50.92 and last traded at $49.01, with a volume of 164557 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.44.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research raised Amalgamated Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Amalgamated Financial from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Amalgamated Financial from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Amalgamated Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amalgamated Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.50.

Amalgamated Financial Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $45.00 and its 200 day moving average is $41.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 0.79.

Amalgamated Financial (NASDAQ:AMAL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.10. Amalgamated Financial had a net margin of 23.34% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The company had revenue of $96.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.09 million. Analysts anticipate that Amalgamated Financial Corp. will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Amalgamated Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. Amalgamated Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.13%.

Insider Transactions at Amalgamated Financial

In related news, CFO Jason Darby sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.30, for a total transaction of $129,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,435,551.90. This represents a 3.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Maryann Bruce sold 2,089 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.39, for a total value of $86,463.71. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $825,399.38. This trade represents a 9.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 7,589 shares of company stock valued at $325,139 in the last quarter. 1.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amalgamated Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Amalgamated Financial by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,434,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,943,000 after purchasing an additional 49,037 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Amalgamated Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,407,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,205,000 after purchasing an additional 54,885 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Amalgamated Financial by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 953,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,552,000 after purchasing an additional 120,483 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amalgamated Financial by 63.7% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 522,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,189,000 after buying an additional 203,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Manhattan CO. LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Amalgamated Financial by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 407,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,037,000 after buying an additional 9,340 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.93% of the company’s stock.

Amalgamated Financial Company Profile

Amalgamated Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: AMAL) is the bank holding company for Amalgamated Bank, a fully insured commercial bank with a historic mission of serving labor unions, progressive non-profits and mission-driven organizations. Founded in 1923 by the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, Amalgamated Bank has grown into a national institution offering a broad suite of banking services, including deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, cash management, and treasury solutions tailored to organizations with social responsibility or union affiliations.

In addition to core banking, Amalgamated Financial provides wealth management and trust services, retirement plan consulting and impact investing strategies.