Brokerages Set Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) Price Target at $11.00

Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the three analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $11.00.

WNEB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of 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 upgraded Western New England Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Western New England Bancorp in a research note on Saturday, September 27th.

Western New England Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of WNEB opened at $11.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $240.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90 and a beta of 0.88. Western New England Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $7.63 and a fifty-two week high of $12.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The business’s 50-day moving average is $11.88 and its 200-day moving average is $10.19.

Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.09. Western New England Bancorp had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 5.07%. The business had revenue of $21.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.35 million. Equities research analysts expect that Western New England Bancorp will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western New England Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th were issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Western New England Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western New England Bancorp news, SVP Darlene M. Libiszewski sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.39, for a total transaction of $44,604.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,785.16. This represents a 18.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Philip R. Smith sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.79, for a total value of $43,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $113,262.63. This represents a 27.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western New England Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 103.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 434,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,007,000 after purchasing an additional 220,852 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $750,000 after buying an additional 52,858 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in Western New England Bancorp by 332.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 44,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 34,270 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Western New England Bancorp by 66.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 81,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $753,000 after acquiring an additional 32,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 36.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 92,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $856,000 after purchasing an additional 24,597 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.95% of the company’s stock.

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.