Western New England Bancorp $WNEB Shares Sold by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP lessened its stake in shares of Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) by 13.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 783,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 126,909 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Western New England Bancorp were worth $9,891,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 103.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 434,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,007,000 after purchasing an additional 220,852 shares during the last quarter. Mangrove Partners IM LLC raised its stake in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 10.0% during the third quarter. Mangrove Partners IM LLC now owns 225,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,707,000 after purchasing an additional 20,489 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 3.9% during the second quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 221,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,049,000 after purchasing an additional 8,331 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 2.1% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 156,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,881,000 after purchasing an additional 3,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 152,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,921,000 after purchasing an additional 4,873 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western New England Bancorp

In other news, SVP Darlene M. Libiszewski sold 3,680 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.42, for a total value of $49,385.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,048 shares in the company, valued at $188,524.16. This represents a 20.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Philip R. Smith sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.17, for a total value of $39,510.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,497 shares in the company, valued at $98,735.49. This trade represents a 28.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 6.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on WNEB. Seaport Research Partners upped their price target on Western New England Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research cut Western New England Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Western New England Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Hovde Group raised Western New England Bancorp to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Western New England Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.00.

Western New England Bancorp Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:WNEB opened at $13.34 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Western New England Bancorp has a 52-week low of $8.52 and a 52-week high of $14.52. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.08. The company has a market capitalization of $268.40 million, a P/E ratio of 14.99 and a beta of 0.79.

Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.03. Western New England Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 13.27%.The business had revenue of $21.82 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.96 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Western New England Bancorp will post 1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western New England Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. Western New England Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.46%.

About Western New England Bancorp

Western New England Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Westfield, Massachusetts. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Westfield Bank, the company provides a full suite of commercial and consumer banking services. Its operations focus on serving small to mid-sized businesses, professional practices, and individual customers, with a strategy centered on relationship-driven banking and community involvement.

The company’s core offerings include deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts, along with business cash-management solutions.