New York Community Bancorp (NYSE:NYCB) Trading Down 4.1%

Shares of New York Community Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:NYCB) traded down 4.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $3.03 and last traded at $3.05. 3,372,502 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 34,535,906 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America downgraded New York Community Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $8.50 to $5.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Citigroup dropped their price target on New York Community Bancorp from $5.00 to $3.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. UBS Group downgraded New York Community Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Barclays initiated coverage on New York Community Bancorp in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $4.00 price target for the company. Finally, Compass Point downgraded New York Community Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $16.00 to $8.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.43.

New York Community Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.91.

New York Community Bancorp (NYSE:NYCB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported ($0.27) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.56). The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $935.90 million. New York Community Bancorp had a return on equity of 6.22% and a net margin of 28.96%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that New York Community Bancorp, Inc. will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

New York Community Bancorp Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.49%. New York Community Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at New York Community Bancorp

In other news, Director Marshall Lux acquired 27,100 shares of New York Community Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $3.69 per share, with a total value of $99,999.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 64,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $239,377.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Thomas R. Cangemi bought 11,310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $4.41 per share, with a total value of $49,877.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 69,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $307,394.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Marshall Lux purchased 27,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $3.69 per share, for a total transaction of $99,999.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 64,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,377.68. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 213,410 shares of company stock worth $875,626. 1.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On New York Community Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NYCB. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in New York Community Bancorp by 7.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 67,668,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $767,366,000 after buying an additional 4,723,876 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in New York Community Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $77,628,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its position in New York Community Bancorp by 154.0% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 5,135,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,242,000 after buying an additional 3,114,070 shares during the last quarter. Cannell & Co. grew its position in shares of New York Community Bancorp by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Cannell & Co. now owns 4,574,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,793,000 after purchasing an additional 500,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of New York Community Bancorp by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,553,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,579,000 after purchasing an additional 33,122 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.88% of the company’s stock.

About New York Community Bancorp

New York Community Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Flagstar Bank, N.A. that provides banking products and services in the United States. The company's deposit products include interest-bearing checking and money market, savings, non-interest-bearing, and retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.