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

BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCBP) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 96,600 shares, a decline of 32.0% from the January 31st total of 142,100 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 50,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

BCB Bancorp Price Performance

BCBP traded down $0.07 on Tuesday, reaching $9.93. The company had a trading volume of 41,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,103. The company has a market cap of $169.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.13 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. BCB Bancorp has a 52-week low of $9.19 and a 52-week high of $14.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.96.

BCB Bancorp (NASDAQ:BCBP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.13). BCB Bancorp had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 6.33%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BCB Bancorp will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

BCB Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. BCB Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCB Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in BCB Bancorp by 5.2% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 73,121 shares of the bank’s stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 3,618 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of BCB Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,450,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of BCB Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $356,000. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in BCB Bancorp by 5.1% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 15,669 shares of the bank’s stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 767 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in BCB Bancorp by 235.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 22,375 shares of the bank’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 15,702 shares in the last quarter. 36.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on BCB Bancorp from $15.00 to $13.75 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of BCB Bancorp from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

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.