Short Interest in Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) Declines By 5.4%

Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) saw a large decline in short interest in 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 daily volume of 459,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BRKL shares. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Brookline Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Brookline Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookline Bancorp

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 2,268.0% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,297 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 337.3% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,589 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,997 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Brookline Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Brookline Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Brookline Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 78.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brookline Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ BRKL opened at $9.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $807.75 million, a P/E ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.78. Brookline Bancorp has a twelve month low of $7.00 and a twelve month high of $11.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $160.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.38 million. Brookline Bancorp had a net margin of 12.31% and a return on equity of 7.87%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Brookline Bancorp will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brookline Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.135 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.99%. Brookline Bancorp’s payout ratio is 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.