Short Interest in Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) Increases By 7.8%

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

Institutional Trading of Brookline Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BRKL. 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 worth $41,667,000 after purchasing an additional 21,345 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Brookline Bancorp by 21.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,431,291 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,951,000 after acquiring an additional 249,113 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Brookline Bancorp by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 878,717 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,369,000 after purchasing an additional 236,066 shares during the period. 78.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Brookline Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ BRKL opened at $12.00 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 0.79. Brookline Bancorp has a 52 week low of $8.01 and a 52 week high of $13.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.87.

Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.03. Brookline Bancorp had a net margin of 11.40% and a return on equity of 6.20%. The company had revenue of $165.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. Research analysts predict that Brookline Bancorp will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookline Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BRKL has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Brookline Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $14.50 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Brookline Bancorp in a research note on Sunday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James upgraded 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 note on Friday, December 20th.

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.