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

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

Brookline Bancorp Trading Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ BRKL opened at $10.29 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $914.73 million, a P/E ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Brookline Bancorp has a one year low of $7.93 and a one year high of $11.52.

Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.01. Brookline Bancorp had a net margin of 12.04% and a return on equity of 6.51%. The company had revenue of $161.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. Research analysts expect that Brookline Bancorp will post 0.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookline Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $0.135 dividend. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Brookline Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brookline Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Brookline Bancorp by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,917,763 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,981,000 after purchasing an additional 424,115 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 21.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,431,291 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,951,000 after buying an additional 249,113 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Brookline Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,881,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Brookline Bancorp by 47.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 491,756 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,106,000 after buying an additional 158,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Brookline Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $1,298,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.