Short Interest in Western New England Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WNEB) Expands By 19.7%

Western New England Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WNEB) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 60,800 shares, a growth of 19.7% from the February 13th total of 50,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 54,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Western New England Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western New England Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Western New England Bancorp by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,495,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,756,000 after acquiring an additional 5,560 shares during the period. Fourthstone LLC lifted its position in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 18.3% during the fourth 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. Susquehanna International Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 186.2% in the fourth quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 284,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,615,000 after purchasing an additional 184,907 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 186,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 34,297 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 129,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after purchasing an additional 2,735 shares in the last quarter. 67.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western New England Bancorp Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ WNEB opened at $9.06 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $187.98 million, a PE ratio of 16.18 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Western New England Bancorp has a 12-month low of $6.00 and a 12-month high of $10.08. The company has a 50-day moving average of $9.24 and a 200 day moving average of $9.05.

Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.04. Western New England Bancorp had a return on equity of 4.91% and a net margin of 9.51%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Western New England Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.00%.

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.