Short Interest in Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) Declines By 26.5%

Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,140,000 shares, a drop of 26.5% from the June 30th total of 1,550,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 502,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BRKL. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Brookline Bancorp by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,493,648 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,026,000 after acquiring an additional 870,327 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Brookline Bancorp by 71.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 427,950 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,669,000 after acquiring an additional 178,733 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Brookline Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $1,881,000. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new position in Brookline Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $899,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Brookline Bancorp by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,091,845 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,912,000 after acquiring an additional 62,286 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.91% of the company’s stock.

Brookline Bancorp Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of BRKL stock traded up $0.08 on Friday, hitting $10.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 448,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 658,969. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Brookline Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $7.93 and a fifty-two week high of $11.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $8.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $933.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.29 and a beta of 0.79.

Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.01. Brookline Bancorp had a net margin of 12.04% and a return on equity of 6.51%. The business had revenue of $161.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Brookline Bancorp will post 0.72 EPS for the current year.

Brookline Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $0.135 per share. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Brookline Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 58.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Brookline Bancorp from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brookline Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.25.

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.