Amalgamated Financial (NASDAQ:AMAL) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Amalgamated Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:AMAL) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $48.01 and last traded at $47.9560, with a volume of 23610 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $46.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMAL. Zacks Research raised Amalgamated Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Amalgamated Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Amalgamated Financial from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Amalgamated Financial Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86 and a beta of 0.79.

Amalgamated Financial (NASDAQ:AMAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $91.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.16 million. Amalgamated Financial had a return on equity of 13.89% and a net margin of 22.33%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Amalgamated Financial Corp. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Amalgamated Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. Amalgamated Financial’s payout ratio is 19.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amalgamated Financial

In other news, Director Maryann Bruce sold 2,089 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director owned 19,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $825,399.38. This represents a 9.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Leslie Veluswamy sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.51, for a total transaction of $108,775.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $618,494.65. The trade was a 14.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 7,589 shares of company stock valued at $325,139 in the last 90 days. 1.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amalgamated Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAL. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Amalgamated Financial by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 164,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,401,000 after purchasing an additional 14,621 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Amalgamated Financial by 143.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 876 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Amalgamated Financial by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 134,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,222,000 after buying an additional 7,698 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Amalgamated Financial by 51.7% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 10,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 3,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Amalgamated Financial in the first quarter valued at $380,000. 75.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Amalgamated Financial

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.