Short Interest in BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCBP) Increases By 25.7%

BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCBP) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 120,800 shares, a growth of 25.7% from the February 28th total of 96,100 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 55,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

BCB Bancorp Trading Up 0.6 %

BCBP opened at $9.91 on Thursday. BCB Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $9.19 and a fifty-two week high of $14.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.09 million, a PE ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company’s 50-day moving average is $10.31 and its 200 day moving average is $11.63.

BCB Bancorp (NASDAQ:BCBP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.13). BCB Bancorp had a return on equity of 6.33% and a net margin of 9.46%. As a group, research analysts predict that BCB Bancorp will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCB Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. BCB Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 65.31%.

Institutional Trading of BCB Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of BCB Bancorp by 345.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 59,707 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 46,302 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of BCB Bancorp by 235.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 22,375 shares of the bank’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 15,702 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of BCB Bancorp by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 367,403 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,534,000 after buying an additional 7,631 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of BCB Bancorp by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 82,148 shares of the bank’s stock worth $973,000 after buying an additional 7,348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BCB Bancorp by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 43,673 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $517,000 after acquiring an additional 2,631 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 36.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCBP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on BCB Bancorp from $15.00 to $13.75 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on BCB Bancorp from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th.

BCB Bancorp Company Profile

BCB Bancorp, Inc operates as a bank holding company for BCB Community Bank that engages in the provision of banking products and services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company offers insured deposit products, including savings and club accounts, interest and non-interest-bearing demand accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts.