Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the four research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $15.00.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Western New England Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Seaport Research Partners upped their price objective on Western New England Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Hovde Group upgraded Western New England Bancorp to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Zacks Research cut Western New England Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Western New England Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, April 29th.

Western New England Bancorp Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Western New England Bancorp stock opened at $13.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $266.99 million, a P/E ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.09. Western New England Bancorp has a 1-year low of $8.52 and a 1-year high of $14.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 13.27%. Analysts predict that Western New England Bancorp will post 1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western New England Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Western New England Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western New England Bancorp news, SVP Darlene M. Libiszewski sold 3,680 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.42, for a total transaction of $49,385.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,048 shares in the company, valued at $188,524.16. This represents a 20.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WNEB. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western New England Bancorp during the first quarter worth $40,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Western New England Bancorp during the second quarter worth $39,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 95.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 2,446 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 51,300.0% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 8,721 shares during the period. 67.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Western New England Bancorp

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.