Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Western New England Bancorp $WNEB

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB - Free Report) by 36.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 92,006 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 24,597 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.44% of Western New England Bancorp worth $856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WNEB. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western New England Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $256,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Western New England Bancorp by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 56,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 8,434 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Western New England Bancorp by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 129,892 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,195,000 after acquiring an additional 2,735 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 28.0% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 14,180 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 3,100 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 107,813 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,003,000 after buying an additional 12,189 shares during the period. 67.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Western New England Bancorp news, Director Philip R. Smith sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.79, for a total value of $43,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $113,262.63. This represents a 27.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Darlene M. Libiszewski sold 3,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.39, for a total transaction of $44,604.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,044 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $198,785.16. This trade represents a 18.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Western New England Bancorp Price Performance

WNEB opened at $12.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $253.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98 and a beta of 0.85. Western New England Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $7.63 and a fifty-two week high of $12.80. The company's 50-day moving average price is $11.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $21.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.35 million. Western New England Bancorp had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 5.07%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Western New England Bancorp will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Western New England Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Western New England Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 47.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WNEB has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Western New England Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Western New England Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $11.00.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.