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

Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,780,000 shares, a growth of 50.8% from the February 13th total of 1,180,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 667,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookline Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Brookline Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $1,855,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in shares of Brookline Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 148,355 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,751,000 after purchasing an additional 12,454 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Brookline Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $756,000. Finally, WBI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Brookline Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $176,000. Institutional investors own 78.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Brookline Bancorp in a research note on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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, Raymond James upgraded shares of Brookline Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th.

Brookline Bancorp Stock Performance

Brookline Bancorp stock opened at $10.93 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $11.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $973.92 million, a P/E ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 0.78. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The bank reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts expect that Brookline Bancorp will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brookline Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.135 per share. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Brookline Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.13%.

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.