Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $11.53, but opened at $11.78. Brookline Bancorp shares last traded at $11.81, with a volume of 214,315 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BRKL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Brookline Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $12.00 to $14.50 in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James raised shares of Brookline Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $16.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brookline Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $14.17.

Brookline Bancorp Trading Up 3.8 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 0.78.

Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.03. Brookline Bancorp had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 11.40%. The business had revenue of $165.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Brookline Bancorp, Inc. will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brookline Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.135 dividend. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Brookline Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brookline Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 67.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 642,651 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,484,000 after buying an additional 258,267 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $11,951,000 after purchasing an additional 249,113 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 47.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 491,756 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,106,000 after purchasing an additional 158,329 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Brookline Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $1,298,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new stake in shares of Brookline Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,042,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.91% of the company’s stock.

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.