Western New England Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WNEB) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Western New England Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WNEB - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 54,100 shares, a drop of 19.3% from the December 31st total of 67,000 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 38,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Western New England Bancorp Stock Up 1.1 %

WNEB traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $9.40. 60,934 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 49,830. Western New England Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $6.00 and a fifty-two week high of $10.08. The company has a market cap of $197.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $9.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.77.

Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.04. Western New England Bancorp had a return on equity of 4.58% and a net margin of 9.05%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Western New England Bancorp will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western New England Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. Western New England Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Western New England Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western New England Bancorp

In other news, SVP Darlene M. Libiszewski sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.18, for a total value of $45,900.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,020 shares in the company, valued at $147,063.60. This trade represents a 23.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 5.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western New England Bancorp

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WNEB. Fourthstone LLC lifted its holdings in Western New England Bancorp by 372.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 769,807 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,543,000 after buying an additional 606,897 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Western New England Bancorp by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 83,595 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $769,000 after purchasing an additional 4,050 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Western New England Bancorp by 16.9% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 82,605 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $702,000 after purchasing an additional 11,936 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Western New England Bancorp by 48.8% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 49,236 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 16,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 23.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 8,532 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.95% of the company's stock.

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.