BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCBP) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCBP) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 92,400 shares, a drop of 14.8% from the June 30th total of 108,400 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 49,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days.

BCB Bancorp Trading Down 0.1 %

BCBP stock traded down $0.01 on Tuesday, reaching $12.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 25,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 49,730. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.71. BCB Bancorp has a 12-month low of $9.19 and a 12-month high of $13.90. The firm has a market cap of $213.70 million, a PE ratio of 8.08 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20.

BCB Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 2nd. BCB Bancorp’s payout ratio is 41.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BCB Bancorp

In other news, Director Tara L. French purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $10.70 per share, for a total transaction of $26,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,750. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Mark D. Hogan acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $9.90 per share, for a total transaction of $49,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 88,352 shares in the company, valued at $874,684.80. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Tara L. French acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.70 per share, for a total transaction of $26,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,750. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 16,422 shares of company stock worth $163,776 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 15.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BCB Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in BCB Bancorp by 3.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 775,070 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,099,000 after acquiring an additional 25,064 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in BCB Bancorp by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 177,191 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,277,000 after buying an additional 30,800 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in BCB Bancorp by 8.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 64,643 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 4,867 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in BCB Bancorp by 51.7% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 53,760 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 18,327 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio lifted its position in BCB Bancorp by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 43,600 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on BCBP. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on BCB Bancorp from $11.50 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on BCB Bancorp from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.50.

BCB Bancorp Company Profile

BCB Bancorp, Inc operates as a bank holding company for BCB Community Bank that engages in the provision of banking products and services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company offers insured deposit products, including savings and club accounts, interest and non-interest-bearing demand accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts.