Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) Short Interest Up 20.1% in June

Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) was the target of a large increase in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,670,000 shares, an increase of 20.1% from the May 31st total of 1,390,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 405,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.1 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookline Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Brookline Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $341,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Brookline Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $140,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 13.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 789,531 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,193,000 after purchasing an additional 92,291 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Brookline Bancorp by 71.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 427,950 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,669,000 after acquiring an additional 178,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Brookline Bancorp by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 275,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,000,000 after acquiring an additional 45,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.91% of the company’s stock.

Brookline Bancorp Stock Performance

BRKL stock traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $8.35. 2,643,276 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 447,616. Brookline Bancorp has a 1-year low of $7.93 and a 1-year high of $11.52. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $742.23 million, a PE ratio of 8.98 and a beta of 0.81.

Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.06). Brookline Bancorp had a net margin of 13.13% and a return on equity of 7.09%. The business had revenue of $87.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.77 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Brookline Bancorp will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookline Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.47%. Brookline Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BRKL. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of Brookline Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Brookline Bancorp from $12.00 to $10.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brookline Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.08.

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.