Philip Smith Sells 3,300 Shares of Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) Stock

Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) Director Philip Smith sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.88, for a total transaction of $45,804.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,504. This represents a 36.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Western New England Bancorp Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ WNEB opened at $13.89 on Friday. Western New England Bancorp has a 1 year low of $10.78 and a 1 year high of $15.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $14.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.60. The firm has a market cap of $278.49 million, a P/E ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.06). Western New England Bancorp had a return on equity of 6.78% and a net margin of 12.43%.The firm had revenue of $27.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.74 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western New England Bancorp will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Western New England Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th were paid a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. Western New England Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western New England Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WNEB. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 265.5% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,607 shares during the period. Odyssean LLC acquired a new position in Western New England Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $177,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Western New England Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,636,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Western New England Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $829,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Western New England Bancorp in the second quarter worth $1,516,000. 67.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WNEB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Seaport Research Partners cut Western New England Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Western New England Bancorp from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Western New England Bancorp in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Western New England Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Western New England Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.50.

Western New England Bancorp Company Profile

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.