Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $14.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on WNEB. Zacks Research raised shares of Western New England Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Western New England Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $14.00.

Western New England Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WNEB opened at $12.75 on Monday. Western New England Bancorp has a 1 year low of $7.63 and a 1 year high of $14.52. The firm has a market cap of $258.32 million, a P/E ratio of 16.78 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $13.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.62 million. Western New England Bancorp had a return on equity of 6.31% and a net margin of 11.64%. Research analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Western New England Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western New England Bancorp news, Director Philip R. Smith sold 3,000 shares of Western New England Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.17, for a total transaction of $39,510.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $98,735.49. The trade was a 28.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western New England Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its position in Western New England Bancorp by 141.6% during the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 17,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 10,358 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Western New England Bancorp by 36.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 92,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $856,000 after buying an additional 24,597 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Western New England Bancorp by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 89,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $832,000 after buying an additional 5,883 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 190.1% during 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 period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 103.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 434,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,007,000 after buying an additional 220,852 shares during the period. 67.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Western New England Bancorp

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.