NewAlliance Bank, a subsidiary of NewAlliance Bancshares Inc. (NAL), said that it will open a branch in downtown Hartford. This is the first branch opening in downtown Hartford since Jun 2008.
 
NewAlliance has been steadily increasing its presence in the Hartford region. The company has now 87 branches in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. The new branch will mark NewAlliance Bank’s second branch in the city of Hartford.
 
Through this new branch, NewAlliance targets medium-to-small businesses by offering a full suite of commercial products and services.
 
In 2003, NewAlliance was organized as a Delaware business corporation following the conversion of NewAlliance Bank – formerly New Haven Savings Bank – from mutual to capital stock form, which became effective Apr 1, 2004. The conversion of the bank resulted in the company owning all of the bank’s outstanding capital stock. On Apr 1, 2004, the bank also changed its name to NewAlliance Bank.
 
NewAlliance’s third-quarter earnings came in at 13 cents per share, two cents ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. This also compares favorably with earnings of 11 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.
 
The upside was primarily due to strong growth in core deposits, organic loan originations and improved net interest margin. Also, gains from mortgage banking activity and loan sales were strong during the quarter.
 
While NewAlliance is expected to benefit from its strong capital position and credit quality relative to its peers, increasing credit costs will keep earnings under pressure. Therefore, we are maintaining our Neutral recommendation on the shares.
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