Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) Short Interest Down 5.4% in March

Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,220,000 shares, a decline of 5.4% from the March 15th total of 1,290,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 459,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Brookline Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ BRKL opened at $8.97 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $9.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $804.16 million, a P/E ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Brookline Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $7.00 and a fifty-two week high of $11.52.

Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.03. Brookline Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 12.31%. The company had revenue of $160.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Brookline Bancorp will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookline Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were given a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.02%. Brookline Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brookline Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRKL. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Brookline Bancorp by 199.0% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,623,321 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,008,000 after purchasing an additional 2,411,481 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in Brookline Bancorp by 16.6% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 13,012,406 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $136,630,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848,069 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Brookline Bancorp by 27.4% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,327,813 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,442,000 after purchasing an additional 930,622 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Brookline Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $6,555,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 125.5% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,055,528 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,698,000 after buying an additional 587,460 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BRKL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Brookline Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. TheStreet raised Brookline Bancorp from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Brookline Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.38.

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.