Northeast Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:NECB) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Freedom Capital

Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Northeast Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:NECB) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Northeast Community Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Northeast Community Bancorp Stock Up 1.7%

Northeast Community Bancorp stock opened at $24.21 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.24. Northeast Community Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $19.27 and a fifty-two week high of $25.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $334.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.43 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Northeast Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:NECB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $26.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.15 million. Northeast Community Bancorp had a net margin of 28.07% and a return on equity of 13.07%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northeast Community Bancorp will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Northeast Community Bancorp declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 8th that allows the company to buyback $1.40 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the savings and loans company to reacquire up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Northeast Community Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 6th. Northeast Community Bancorp’s payout ratio is 24.54%.

Institutional Trading of Northeast Community Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NECB. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northeast Community Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,779,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northeast Community Bancorp by 261.8% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 162,916 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $3,819,000 after buying an additional 117,888 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Northeast Community Bancorp by 7.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 69,058 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,619,000 after acquiring an additional 4,741 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of Northeast Community Bancorp by 78.3% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 25,696 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $602,000 after acquiring an additional 11,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northeast Community Bancorp by 4.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 311,695 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $7,247,000 after acquiring an additional 12,204 shares during the period. 53.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northeast Community Bancorp Company Profile

Northeast Community Bancorp is the bank holding company for Northeast Bank, a full-service community bank headquartered in DeKalb, Illinois. Through its principal subsidiary, the company provides a range of deposit and lending products designed to meet the financial needs of individuals, families and small to mid-sized businesses in the northern Illinois market.

The company’s loan portfolio encompasses consumer and mortgage lending, home equity lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, SBA-guaranteed loans and agricultural credits.