Empowered Funds LLC Purchases New Position in Northeast Community Bancorp Inc. $NECB

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Northeast Community Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NECB) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 96,974 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,690,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northeast Community Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,779,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Northeast Community Bancorp by 261.8% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 162,916 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $3,819,000 after acquiring an additional 117,888 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in Northeast Community Bancorp by 78.3% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 25,696 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $602,000 after acquiring an additional 11,286 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Northeast Community Bancorp by 4.6% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 58,616 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,363,000 after purchasing an additional 2,602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in Northeast Community Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $790,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.25% of the company’s stock.

Northeast Community Bancorp Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NECB opened at $26.74 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. Northeast Community Bancorp Inc. has a one year low of $19.27 and a one year high of $28.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $368.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.57 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.19.

Northeast Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:NECB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The savings and loans company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $25.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.76 million. Northeast Community Bancorp had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 12.00%. Equities research analysts forecast that Northeast Community Bancorp Inc. will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northeast Community Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 7th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. This is a positive change from Northeast Community Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 7th. Northeast Community Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.05%.

Insider Activity at Northeast Community Bancorp

In other news, CFO Donald S. Hom sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.20, for a total value of $81,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $128,220.80. This trade represents a 38.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 7.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NECB shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Northeast Community Bancorp from $26.50 to $29.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northeast Community Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.50.

About Northeast Community Bancorp

Northeast Community Bancorp is the bank holding company for Northeast Bank, a full-service community bank headquartered in DeKalb, Illinois. Through its principal subsidiary, the company provides a range of deposit and lending products designed to meet the financial needs of individuals, families and small to mid-sized businesses in the northern Illinois market.

The company’s loan portfolio encompasses consumer and mortgage lending, home equity lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, SBA-guaranteed loans and agricultural credits.