Short Interest in Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) Decreases By 5.3%

Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,070,000 shares, a decline of 5.3% from the August 15th total of 1,130,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 581,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Brookline Bancorp Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ BRKL opened at $10.13 on Wednesday. Brookline Bancorp has a 1-year low of $7.93 and a 1-year high of $11.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $900.51 million, a PE ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.28.

Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $161.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.40 million. Brookline Bancorp had a net margin of 12.04% and a return on equity of 6.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Brookline Bancorp will post 0.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brookline Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.135 dividend. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Brookline Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Brookline Bancorp from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brookline Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BRKL. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Brookline Bancorp during the first quarter valued at about $47,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Brookline Bancorp by 1,806.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,827 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 8,364 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Brookline Bancorp during the second quarter valued at about $102,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Brookline Bancorp during the second quarter valued at about $115,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Brookline Bancorp during the second quarter valued at about $116,000. 78.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.