BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCBP) Short Interest Up 22.6% in April

BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCBP - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 84,100 shares, a growth of 22.6% from the March 31st total of 68,600 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 50,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on BCBP shares. TheStreet downgraded shares of BCB Bancorp from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of BCB Bancorp from $13.00 to $13.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of BCB Bancorp from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.75.

Institutional Trading of BCB Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of BCB Bancorp by 91.1% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,727 shares of the bank's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio grew its stake in shares of BCB Bancorp by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 43,600 shares of the bank's stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of BCB Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $106,000. RMR Wealth Builders purchased a new position in shares of BCB Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $164,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of BCB Bancorp by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 146,391 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,631,000 after buying an additional 13,500 shares in the last quarter. 36.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BCB Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of BCBP stock traded up $0.02 on Friday, hitting $9.46. 38,349 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 42,179. The firm has a market cap of $160.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 0.58. BCB Bancorp has a 52 week low of $9.19 and a 52 week high of $13.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

BCB Bancorp (NASDAQ:BCBP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $27.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.33 million. BCB Bancorp had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 9.78%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that BCB Bancorp will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCB Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.77%. BCB Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

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.