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

BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCBP) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 84,100 shares, an increase of 22.6% from the March 31st total of 68,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 50,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

BCB Bancorp Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:BCBP traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $9.57. 21,430 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 49,050. BCB Bancorp has a 12-month low of $9.19 and a 12-month high of $13.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $10.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.23.

BCB Bancorp (NASDAQ:BCBP) 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). BCB Bancorp had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 9.78%. The business had revenue of $27.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.33 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BCB Bancorp will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

BCB Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.69%. BCB Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on BCB Bancorp from $13.00 to $13.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. TheStreet lowered BCB Bancorp from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on BCB Bancorp from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.75.

Institutional Trading of BCB Bancorp

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in BCB Bancorp by 91.1% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,727 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of BCB Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $106,000. RMR Wealth Builders bought a new stake in shares of BCB Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $164,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 13,500 shares in the last quarter. 36.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.