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

Western New England Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WNEB) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 67,000 shares, an increase of 61.1% from the November 15th total of 41,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 36,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Western New England Bancorp Price Performance

Western New England Bancorp stock opened at $9.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.18. Western New England Bancorp has a 12 month low of $6.00 and a 12 month high of $10.08. The company has a market cap of $209.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.21 and a beta of 0.69.

Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.01). Western New England Bancorp had a return on equity of 4.58% and a net margin of 9.05%. The firm had revenue of $30.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.39 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Western New England Bancorp will post 0.52 EPS for the current year.

Western New England Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Western New England Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western New England Bancorp news, SVP Darlene M. Libiszewski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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. The trade was a 23.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western New England Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WNEB. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Western New England Bancorp by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,200,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,258,000 after buying an additional 32,700 shares in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC grew its position in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 372.5% in the third quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 769,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,543,000 after purchasing an additional 606,897 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 425,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,924,000 after purchasing an additional 28,000 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 16.6% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 401,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,762,000 after purchasing an additional 57,099 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Western New England Bancorp by 16.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 67.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.