BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCBP) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCBP) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 96,600 shares, a decrease of 32.0% from the January 31st total of 142,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 50,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCB Bancorp

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of BCB Bancorp by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 974,952 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,543,000 after purchasing an additional 21,826 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in BCB Bancorp by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 369,315 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,912 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in BCB Bancorp by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 321,096 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,802,000 after acquiring an additional 84,617 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in BCB Bancorp by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 126,834 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,502,000 after acquiring an additional 3,637 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of BCB Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $1,450,000. Institutional investors own 36.00% of the company’s stock.

BCB Bancorp Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BCBP traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $9.93. The company had a trading volume of 41,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,103. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. BCB Bancorp has a one year low of $9.19 and a one year high of $14.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $11.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.96. The company has a market capitalization of $169.20 million, a PE ratio of 10.13 and a beta of 0.56.

BCB Bancorp (NASDAQ:BCBP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.13). BCB Bancorp had a return on equity of 6.33% and a net margin of 9.46%. As a group, research analysts forecast that BCB Bancorp will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

BCB Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. BCB Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on BCBP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on BCB Bancorp from $15.00 to $13.75 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of BCB Bancorp from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

About BCB Bancorp

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.