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

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

Brookline Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ BRKL opened at $12.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s fifty day moving average is $12.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.85. Brookline Bancorp has a 52-week low of $8.01 and a 52-week high of $13.15.

Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business posted $0.26 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Brookline Bancorp will post 0.82 EPS for the current year.

Brookline Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.135 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.50%. Brookline Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BRKL. Raymond James upgraded shares of Brookline Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $16.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Brookline Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $14.50 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Brookline Bancorp in a research note on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock.

Institutional Trading of Brookline Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 124.2% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,879 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,595 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 15,829 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 1,819 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 40,432 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 2,002 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 64,734 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $653,000 after acquiring an additional 2,730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 174.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,154 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 3,279 shares in the last quarter. 78.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.