Short Interest in Western New England Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WNEB) Rises By 142.4%

Western New England Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WNEB) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 147,400 shares, an increase of 142.4% from the February 28th total of 60,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 55,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western New England Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WNEB. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 483.3% during the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 7,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 6,060 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Western New England Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $108,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Western New England Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $120,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Western New England Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $209,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western New England Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $253,000. 67.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western New England Bancorp Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ WNEB opened at $9.29 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $9.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. Western New England Bancorp has a 52-week low of $6.00 and a 52-week high of $10.08. The company has a market capitalization of $192.75 million, a P/E ratio of 16.59 and a beta of 0.71.

Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.04. Western New England Bancorp had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 4.91%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.12 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Western New England Bancorp will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Western New England Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Western New England Bancorp’s payout ratio is 50.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.