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

Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,220,000 shares, a decrease of 5.4% from the March 15th total of 1,290,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 459,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BRKL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Brookline Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of Brookline Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, TheStreet raised Brookline Bancorp from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brookline Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookline Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,915 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,655 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 117,621 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 58,195 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $823,000 after acquiring an additional 1,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 39,857 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 1,597 shares during the last quarter. 78.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Brookline Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BRKL opened at $8.97 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $9.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $804.16 million, a P/E ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 0.75. Brookline Bancorp has a 1 year low of $7.00 and a 1 year high of $11.52.

Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $160.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.38 million. Brookline Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 12.31%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.39 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Brookline Bancorp will post 0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookline Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

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.