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

Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,800,000 shares, an increase of 7.8% from the December 31st total of 1,670,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 697,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Brookline Bancorp Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ BRKL opened at $12.06 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.07. The firm has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 15.66 and a beta of 0.79. Brookline Bancorp has a 1 year low of $8.01 and a 1 year high of $13.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The bank reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.01). Brookline Bancorp had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 5.94%. On average, research analysts forecast that Brookline Bancorp will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Brookline Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.48%. Brookline Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Brookline Bancorp by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,133,365 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,974,000 after purchasing an additional 224,888 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Brookline Bancorp by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,089,187 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,084,000 after purchasing an additional 26,714 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Brookline Bancorp by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 878,717 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,369,000 after purchasing an additional 236,066 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Brookline Bancorp by 109.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 647,100 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,529,000 after purchasing an additional 338,050 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.91% of the company’s stock.

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.