Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) Short Interest Down 10.4% in October

Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,120,000 shares, a drop of 10.4% from the October 15th total of 1,250,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 597,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Brookline Bancorp Stock Performance

Brookline Bancorp stock opened at $12.16 on Tuesday. Brookline Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $8.01 and a fifty-two week high of $13.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65 and a beta of 0.76.

Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.67 million. Brookline Bancorp had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 11.40%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Brookline Bancorp will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brookline Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.135 dividend. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Brookline Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Brookline Bancorp from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BRKL. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Brookline Bancorp by 67.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 642,651 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,484,000 after purchasing an additional 258,267 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 21.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,431,291 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,951,000 after buying an additional 249,113 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Brookline Bancorp by 47.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 491,756 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,106,000 after buying an additional 158,329 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Brookline Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $1,298,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can bought a new stake in Brookline Bancorp in the second quarter worth $1,042,000. 78.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Brookline Bancorp

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.