Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,250,000 shares, a growth of 17.9% from the September 30th total of 1,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 564,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Brookline Bancorp from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookline Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BRKL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Brookline Bancorp by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,145,485 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $101,049,000 after purchasing an additional 54,211 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 9.4% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,917,763 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,981,000 after acquiring an additional 424,115 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 21.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,431,291 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,951,000 after acquiring an additional 249,113 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Brookline Bancorp by 4.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,267,888 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,587,000 after purchasing an additional 59,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Brookline Bancorp by 5.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,181,769 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,868,000 after purchasing an additional 56,291 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.91% of the company’s stock.

Brookline Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of BRKL traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $11.23. 169,101 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 500,386. Brookline Bancorp has a 52 week low of $8.01 and a 52 week high of $11.52. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.42. The firm has a market cap of $998.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.03. Brookline Bancorp had a net margin of 12.04% and a return on equity of 6.51%. The business had revenue of $165.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.67 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Brookline Bancorp will post 0.77 EPS for the current year.

Brookline Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.135 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.81%. Brookline Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.06%.

Brookline Bancorp Company Profile

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.