Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) in a report published on Tuesday. The firm issued a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on BRKL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Brookline Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $14.50 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Raymond James raised shares of Brookline Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $16.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th.

Brookline Bancorp Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Brookline Bancorp stock opened at $12.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $12.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Brookline Bancorp has a twelve month low of $8.01 and a twelve month high of $13.15.

Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The bank reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.01). Brookline Bancorp had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 5.94%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Brookline Bancorp will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookline Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.135 dividend. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Brookline Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brookline Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BRKL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 109.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 647,100 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,529,000 after buying an additional 338,050 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 67.2% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 642,651 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,484,000 after buying an additional 258,267 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Brookline Bancorp by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,133,365 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,974,000 after purchasing an additional 224,888 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Brookline Bancorp by 99.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 212,904 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,149,000 after purchasing an additional 106,345 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Brookline Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $744,000. 78.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Brookline Bancorp

Brookline Bancorp, Inc operates as a bank holding company for the Brookline Bank that provide commercial, business, and retail banking services to corporate, municipal, and retail customers in the United States. Its deposit products include demand checking, NOW, money market, and savings accounts. The company’s loan portfolio primarily comprises first mortgage loans secured by commercial, multi-family, and residential real estate properties; loans to business entities comprising commercial lines of credit; loans to condominium associations; loans and leases used to finance equipment for small businesses; financing for construction and development projects; and home equity and other consumer loans.