BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCBP) Short Interest Up 14.2% in June

BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCBP) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 69,800 shares, a growth of 14.2% from the May 31st total of 61,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 44,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Currently, 0.5% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on BCB Bancorp from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BCB Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.75.

BCB Bancorp Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of BCBP traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $10.36. The stock had a trading volume of 2,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 48,027. BCB Bancorp has a 1-year low of $9.19 and a 1-year high of $13.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.71 million, a P/E ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

BCB Bancorp (NASDAQ:BCBP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The bank reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $51.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.87 million. BCB Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 13.41%. Sell-side analysts predict that BCB Bancorp will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCB Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. BCB Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BCB Bancorp

In other news, Director Mark D. Hogan acquired 5,000 shares of BCB Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.90 per share, with a total value of $49,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 88,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $874,684.80. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other BCB Bancorp news, Director Tara L. French acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $10.70 per share, with a total value of $26,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,750. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mark D. Hogan acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $9.90 per share, for a total transaction of $49,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 88,352 shares in the company, valued at $874,684.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 16,422 shares of company stock valued at $163,776. 28.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCB Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BCBP. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in BCB Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $184,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCB Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $106,000. Strs Ohio lifted its position in shares of BCB Bancorp by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 43,600 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in BCB Bancorp by 91.1% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,727 shares of the bank’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in BCB Bancorp by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 177,191 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,277,000 after purchasing an additional 30,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.00% of the company’s stock.

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.