Amalgamated Financial (NASDAQ:AMAL) Sets New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

Key Points

• Amalgamated Financial hit a new 52-week high after announcing a dividend, with shares reaching as high as $48.67 during Wednesday trading.
• The company declared a $0.17 per share dividend, payable on August 20 to shareholders of record on August 4, implying a 1.5% annualized yield.
• Analysts are mixed on the stock: the consensus rating is Hold with a $48.00 price target, while the company recently reported Q1 earnings of $0.80 per share, below expectations.

Shares of Amalgamated Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:AMAL - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $48.67 and last traded at $47.2650, with a volume of 320 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.56.The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. Amalgamated Financial's payout ratio is presently 19.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AMAL shares. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Amalgamated Financial from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings raised Amalgamated Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Amalgamated Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Amalgamated Financial Trading Down 1.4%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $43.97 and a 200-day moving average of $40.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 13.75 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Maryann Bruce sold 2,089 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.39, for a total value of $86,463.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,942 shares in the company, valued at $825,399.38. This represents a 9.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Leslie Veluswamy sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.51, for a total value of $108,775.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,215 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $618,494.65. The trade was a 14.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 7,589 shares of company stock valued at $325,139 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.63% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Amalgamated Financial by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,434,372 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,943,000 after purchasing an additional 49,037 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Amalgamated Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $935,000. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amalgamated Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $2,100,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of Amalgamated Financial by 123.8% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 52,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,685,000 after acquiring an additional 29,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Amalgamated Financial by 46.6% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 150,263 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,841,000 after acquiring an additional 47,770 shares during the last quarter. 75.93% of the stock is currently 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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