Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) Short Interest Update

Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,670,000 shares, a growth of 35.8% from the November 30th total of 1,230,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 678,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookline Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Brookline Bancorp by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,129,487 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,667,000 after buying an additional 21,345 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,089,187 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,084,000 after acquiring an additional 26,714 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $11,951,000 after purchasing an additional 249,113 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 4.9% in the 2nd 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 increased its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 5.0% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. 78.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brookline Bancorp Stock Performance

BRKL traded down $0.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $11.77. 797,947 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 548,896. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.18 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $12.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.48. Brookline Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $8.01 and a fifty-two week high of $13.15.

Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.67 million. Brookline Bancorp had a net margin of 11.40% and a return on equity of 6.20%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Brookline Bancorp will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brookline Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.135 per share. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Brookline Bancorp’s payout ratio is 65.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BRKL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James raised shares of Brookline Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $16.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Brookline Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $14.50 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Brookline Bancorp in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

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.