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

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

Western New England Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Western New England Bancorp stock opened at $9.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $9.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.08. Western New England Bancorp has a 52 week low of $6.00 and a 52 week high of $10.08.

Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 4.91% and a net margin of 9.51%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Western New England Bancorp will post 0.6 EPS for the current year.

Western New England Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Western New England Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WNEB. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Western New England Bancorp by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,495,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,756,000 after purchasing an additional 5,560 shares in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 910,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,379,000 after buying an additional 140,981 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 186.2% during the 4th quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 284,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,615,000 after buying an additional 184,907 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Western New England Bancorp by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 186,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after buying an additional 34,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Western New England Bancorp by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 129,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after acquiring an additional 2,735 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Western New England Bancorp Company Profile

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.