Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) (NASDAQ:NFBK) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) (NASDAQ:NFBK) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 259,300 shares, a decrease of 20.8% from the December 15th total of 327,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 173,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NFBK. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) from $12.50 to $14.25 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) news, Director Annette Catino sold 22,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.12, for a total transaction of $288,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 225,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,960,567.36. The trade was a 8.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NFBK. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) by 36.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,442,937 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,738,000 after acquiring an additional 385,711 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,437,149 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,624,000 after purchasing an additional 41,500 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) by 877.7% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,074,151 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,183,000 after purchasing an additional 964,286 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) by 69.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 924,716 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,766,000 after purchasing an additional 379,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) by 11.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 602,688 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,713,000 after buying an additional 62,473 shares during the period. 65.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NFBK traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $11.52. 124,862 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 153,069. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $12.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.90. Northfield Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $6.98 and a 12 month high of $14.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $494.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00 and a beta of 0.80.

Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) (NASDAQ:NFBK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.16. Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 4.05%. The business had revenue of $62.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.30 million. Analysts predict that Northfield Bancorp, Inc. will post 0.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY)’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.25%.

Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) Company Profile

Northfield Bancorp, Inc (Staten Island, NY) operates as the bank holding company for Northfield Bank that provides various banking products and services primarily to individuals and corporate customers. It accepts various deposits products, including certificates of deposit, passbook, statement, and money market savings accounts; transaction deposit accounts comprising negotiable orders of withdrawal accounts, and interest and non-interest-bearing checking accounts; and brokered deposits.