Short Interest in Western New England Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WNEB) Declines By 19.6%

Western New England Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WNEB) was the target of a large drop in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 52,500 shares, a drop of 19.6% from the October 15th total of 65,300 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 34,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WNEB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of Western New England Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Western New England Bancorp from $7.00 to $8.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Western New England Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western New England Bancorp

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Panagora Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Western New England Bancorp during the second quarter worth $170,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its stake in Western New England Bancorp by 50.9% during the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 22,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 7,482 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Western New England Bancorp by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,200,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,258,000 after acquiring an additional 32,700 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Western New England Bancorp by 16.6% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 401,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,762,000 after purchasing an additional 57,099 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western New England Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $85,000. Institutional investors own 67.95% of the company’s stock.

Western New England Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Western New England Bancorp stock opened at $8.90 on Friday. Western New England Bancorp has a 12 month low of $6.00 and a 12 month high of $9.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $187.08 million, a PE ratio of 17.12 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.79.

Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.01). Western New England Bancorp had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 4.58%. The company had revenue of $30.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.39 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western New England Bancorp will post 0.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western New England Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. Western New England Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.85%.

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.