Short Interest in Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) Rises By 50.8%

Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,780,000 shares, an increase of 50.8% from the February 13th total of 1,180,000 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 667,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookline Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BRKL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Brookline Bancorp by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,570,964 shares of the bank's stock worth $112,937,000 after purchasing an additional 45,448 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Brookline Bancorp by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,255,331 shares of the bank's stock worth $62,013,000 after purchasing an additional 100,610 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Brookline Bancorp by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,129,487 shares of the bank's stock worth $41,667,000 after purchasing an additional 21,345 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Brookline Bancorp by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,133,365 shares of the bank's stock worth $36,974,000 after purchasing an additional 224,888 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Brookline Bancorp by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,089,187 shares of the bank's stock worth $21,084,000 after purchasing an additional 26,714 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.91% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BRKL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James upgraded shares of Brookline Bancorp from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $16.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Brookline Bancorp in a research note on Sunday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Brookline Bancorp from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $14.50 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th.

Brookline Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Brookline Bancorp stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $11.00. 467,453 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 523,170. The stock's fifty day moving average is $11.77 and its 200 day moving average is $11.44. The stock has a market cap of $980.16 million, a PE ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. Brookline Bancorp has a 12 month low of $8.01 and a 12 month high of $13.15.

Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The bank reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.01). Brookline Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.94% and a net margin of 10.51%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Brookline Bancorp will post 1.35 EPS for the current year.

Brookline Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.135 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.91%. Brookline Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 70.13%.

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.