Brookline Bancorp Earnings Preview

If Brookline Bancorp (Nasdaq: BRKL  ) hits analysts' estimates, it will be the third consecutive quarter it has hit the number on the nose. The company will unveil its latest earnings Thursday. Brookline Bancorp is a holding company for Brookline Bank, which is engaged in accepting consumer and commercial deposits, originating loans to individuals and commercial businesses, and providing cash management and investment advisory services.

What analysts say:

• Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts think investors should stand pat on Brookline Bancorp with three of five analysts rating it hold. Analysts don't like Brookline Bancorp as much as competitor Berkshire Hills Bancorp overall. Four out of four analysts rate Berkshire Hills Bancorp a buy compared to two of five for Brookline Bancorp. Analysts still rate the stock a hold, but they are a bit more wary about it compared to three months ago.
• Revenue forecasts: On average, analysts predict $26.4 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 14.5% from the year-ago quarter.
• Wall Street earnings expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.13 per share. Estimates range from $0.12 to $0.14.

What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are split on BRKL, with 45.8% rating it an "outperform" and 54.2% giving it an "underperform" rating. Fools are bearish on Brookline Bancorp, though the message boards have been quiet lately with only 25 posts in the past 30 days. Brookline Bancorp's bearish CAPS rating of one out of five stars falls short of the Fool community sentiment.

Management:
Brookline Bancorp's profit has risen year over year by an average of 27.4%.

Now let's look at how efficient management is at running the business. Traditionally, margins represent the efficiency with which companies capture portions of sales dollars. The following table shows net margins over the past four quarters.

Quarter	Q1	Q4	Q3	Q2
Net Margin	21%	19.3%	21.4%	20.9%

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