Is Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) the Best Financial Dividend Stock Insiders are Buying in 2024?

Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 9

With a dividend yield of about 6% as of May 13, Boston, Massachusetts-based banking company Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) is one of the best banking and financial stocks that saw insider activity this year. On May 8, Thomas J. Hollister, a director at Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL), piled into 2,400 shares of the bank at $8.72 per share. The net worth of this transaction was about $20,928. Since then through May 13, the stock price has gained about 1%.

Last month, the company posted Q1 results. GAAP EPS in the quarter came in at $0.16, missing estimates by $0.06. Revenue in the quarter fell 11.2% year over year to $87.87 million, missing estimates by $0.064 million.

Of the 933 hedge funds in Insider Monkey's database of hedge funds, nine hedge funds reported owning stakes in the bank. The biggest stake in Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) belongs to Cliff Asness's AQR Capital Management, worth about $3.6 million.

During the company's latest earnings call, Brookline's management talked about dividends and effects of higher interest rates on its business:

"Over the past few weeks, the outlook for 2024 Federal Reserve rate cuts has significantly shifted. Longer-term rates have risen notably, client behavior and industry responses continue to adapt to this evolving environment. We face renewed pressure on our deposit mix and funding costs, for the economy remains robust, loan demand has softened. Consequently, we now anticipate our margin and net interest income for the full year to be lower than initially projected. We expect overall loan growth of 1% to 4%, primarily driven by C&I and equipment finance. Although, there appears to be market opportunity in non owner-occupied commercial real estate, our focus remains on serving relationship customers. Hence we anticipate only slight growth in this segment.

Our cash and securities portfolio remained stable, representing 9% to 12% of total assets. On the deposit side, we anticipate growth of 4% to 5%. Given prevailing interest rates, the migration of demand deposit accounts and other lower-cost deposits may persist. Our Q2 margin is currently projected to fall within the range of 300 to 305 basis points and then improved throughout the year. However, this is dependent upon deposit flows. Non-interest income is projected to be in the range of $6 million to $7 million per quarter, although components may vary significantly. We continue to manage operating expenses at $240 million for the full year."

Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) ranks 6th in our list of the 10 Best Financial Dividend Stocks Insiders are Buying in 2024. Click to see the 5 Financial Dividend Stocks Better Than Brookline Bancorp.