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

BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCBP) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 100,400 shares, a growth of 10.5% from the August 15th total of 90,900 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 54,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BCBP. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of BCB Bancorp from $11.50 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on BCB Bancorp from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

BCB Bancorp Stock Down 0.2 %

BCB Bancorp stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $12.47. The company had a trading volume of 11,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 49,684. The stock has a market cap of $211.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.01 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a fifty day moving average of $11.90 and a 200 day moving average of $10.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. BCB Bancorp has a 1 year low of $9.19 and a 1 year high of $13.90.

BCB Bancorp (NASDAQ:BCBP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The bank reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $20.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.65 million. BCB Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.42% and a net margin of 10.67%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that BCB Bancorp will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCB Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.13%. BCB Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.03%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCB Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of BCB Bancorp by 91.1% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,727 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of BCB Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $178,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of BCB Bancorp by 92.5% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,201 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 3,460 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of BCB Bancorp by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 64,643 shares of the bank’s stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 4,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in BCB Bancorp by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 775,070 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,099,000 after purchasing an additional 25,064 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 36.00% of the company’s stock.

About BCB Bancorp

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.