Amalgamated Financial (NASDAQ:AMAL) Hits New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Amalgamated Financial reached a new 52-week high of $45.25, extending a recent rally and trading above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Zacks cut the stock to strong sell, Piper Sandler raised its price target to $44 with a neutral rating, and MarketBeat’s average view remains Hold with a $44 target.
• The company recently reported quarterly EPS of $0.80, missing estimates, while insiders sold shares in recent months; meanwhile, Amalgamated continues to pay a quarterly dividend yielding about 1.5%.

Amalgamated Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:AMAL - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $45.25 and last traded at $45.18, with a volume of 27533 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AMAL. Zacks Research cut Amalgamated Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Amalgamated Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Amalgamated Financial from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $44.00.

Amalgamated Financial Trading Up 1.9%

The company's 50 day moving average price is $41.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 0.80.

Amalgamated Financial (NASDAQ:AMAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $91.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.16 million. Amalgamated Financial had a net margin of 22.33% and a return on equity of 13.89%. As a group, analysts forecast that Amalgamated Financial Corp. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amalgamated Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Amalgamated Financial's payout ratio is 19.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Leslie Veluswamy sold 2,500 shares of Amalgamated Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.51, for a total value of $108,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $618,494.65. This trade represents a 14.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jason Darby sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.30, for a total value of $129,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,343 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,435,551.90. The trade was a 3.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 13,285 shares of company stock worth $550,124 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.63% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amalgamated Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMAL. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Amalgamated Financial by 9.7% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 164,680 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,401,000 after acquiring an additional 14,621 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Amalgamated Financial by 143.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,485 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Amalgamated Financial by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 134,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,222,000 after purchasing an additional 7,698 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Amalgamated Financial by 51.7% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 10,549 shares of the company's stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 3,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Amalgamated Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $380,000. 75.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Amalgamated Financial

Amalgamated Financial Corp. NASDAQ: AMAL is the bank holding company for Amalgamated Bank, a fully insured commercial bank with a historic mission of serving labor unions, progressive non-profits and mission-driven organizations. Founded in 1923 by the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, Amalgamated Bank has grown into a national institution offering a broad suite of banking services, including deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, cash management, and treasury solutions tailored to organizations with social responsibility or union affiliations.

In addition to core banking, Amalgamated Financial provides wealth management and trust services, retirement plan consulting and impact investing strategies.

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