Short Interest in Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) Grows By 607,500.0%

Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 607,600 shares, anincreaseof607,500.0% from the June 30th total of 100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 115,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.3 days. Approximately3.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Approximately3.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 115,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.3 days.

Western New England Bancorp Stock Down 2.9%

WNEB opened at $10.34 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $9.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.33. Western New England Bancorp has a twelve month low of $7.38 and a twelve month high of $11.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $214.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.53 and a beta of 0.82.

Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $21.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.35 million. Western New England Bancorp had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 5.08%. Equities research analysts forecast that Western New England Bancorp will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Western New England Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 6th. Western New England Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 47.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Philip R. Smith sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.79, for a total value of $43,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,497 shares in the company, valued at $113,262.63. The trade was a 27.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western New England Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Susquehanna International Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 186.2% in the 4th quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 284,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,615,000 after purchasing an additional 184,907 shares in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC increased its stake in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 910,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,379,000 after purchasing an additional 140,981 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 190.1% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 80,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $750,000 after purchasing an additional 52,858 shares in the last quarter. 683 Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Western New England Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $366,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. purchased a new stake in Western New England Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $327,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WNEB. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Western New England Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Western New England Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th.

Western New England Bancorp Company Profile

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.