Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in 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 trading volume of 459,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Brookline Bancorp Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of BRKL traded down $0.13 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $9.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 337,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 451,523. The company has a fifty day moving average of $9.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.78. Brookline Bancorp has a twelve month low of $7.00 and a twelve month high of $11.52. The company has a market cap of $807.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.75. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.03. Brookline Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 12.31%. The company had revenue of $160.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Brookline Bancorp will post 0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookline Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were given a $0.135 dividend. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. Brookline Bancorp's payout ratio is 62.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookline Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BRKL. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 199.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,623,321 shares of the bank's stock valued at $33,008,000 after acquiring an additional 2,411,481 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 13,012,406 shares of the bank's stock valued at $136,630,000 after acquiring an additional 1,848,069 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,327,813 shares of the bank's stock valued at $45,442,000 after acquiring an additional 930,622 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Brookline Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,555,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 125.5% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,055,528 shares of the bank's stock valued at $16,698,000 after acquiring an additional 587,460 shares in the last quarter. 78.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BRKL has been the topic of several recent research reports. TheStreet raised Brookline Bancorp from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 26th. StockNews.com raised Brookline Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $12.00 price target on shares of Brookline Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $11.38.

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.