BlackRock Inc. Acquires Shares of 1,836,760 Western New England Bancorp $WNEB

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 1.84 million shares of Western New England Bancorp in the second quarter, worth approximately $26.3 million and representing about 9.13% of the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 67.95% of WNEB.
• Analyst sentiment is generally cautious: WNEB has a consensus “Hold” rating and a $15.50 price target, with recent downgrades from Seaport Research Partners, Zacks Research, and Wall Street Zen.
• Western New England Bancorp reported quarterly EPS of $0.18, missing estimates of $0.24, despite revenue of $27.11 million exceeding forecasts. The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.07, equivalent to a 2.0% annualized yield.

BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,836,760 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $26,266,000. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 9.13% of Western New England Bancorp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Western New England Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $160,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Western New England Bancorp by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,130 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund acquired a new position in Western New England Bancorp during the second quarter worth $102,000. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP purchased a new stake in Western New England Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $100,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new stake in Western New England Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $93,000. 67.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Seaport Research Partners lowered Western New England Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Western New England Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Western New England Bancorp in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Western New England Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Western New England Bancorp from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western New England Bancorp has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $15.50.

Western New England Bancorp Price Performance

WNEB stock opened at $13.73 on Thursday. Western New England Bancorp has a 52-week low of $10.78 and a 52-week high of $15.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $275.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $14.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.61.

Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $27.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.74 million. Western New England Bancorp had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 6.78%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Western New England Bancorp will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Western New England Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were given a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Western New England Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Western New England Bancorp Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WNEB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source