Western New England Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WNEB) Short Interest Update

Western New England Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WNEB) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 54,100 shares, a drop of 19.3% from the December 15th total of 67,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 38,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western New England Bancorp

In other news, SVP Darlene M. Libiszewski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.18, for a total value of $45,900.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,020 shares in the company, valued at $147,063.60. This trade represents a 23.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 5.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western New England Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WNEB. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Western New England Bancorp by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 8,532 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Western New England Bancorp by 48.8% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 49,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 16,158 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Western New England Bancorp by 5.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 79,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 4,020 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Western New England Bancorp by 16.9% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 82,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $702,000 after acquiring an additional 11,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fourthstone LLC raised its position in Western New England Bancorp by 372.5% in the third quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 769,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,543,000 after purchasing an additional 606,897 shares during the period. 67.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western New England Bancorp Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of WNEB opened at $9.05 on Friday. Western New England Bancorp has a 52-week low of $6.00 and a 52-week high of $10.08. The stock has a market cap of $190.21 million, a PE ratio of 17.40 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $9.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $30.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.39 million. Western New England Bancorp had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 4.58%. Research analysts forecast that Western New England Bancorp will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western New England Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Western New England Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.85%.

About Western New England Bancorp

Western New England Bancorp, Inc operates as the holding company for Westfield Bank that provides a range of commercial and retail banking products and services to individuals and businesses. The company accepts various deposit accounts, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing checking, commercial checking, business, nonprofit and municipal checking, savings, money market and sweep, individual retirement, and other savings accounts; time deposits; certificates of deposit; and interest on lawyer's trust accounts.