Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) Issues Earnings Results

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The savings and loans company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a net margin of 11.24% and a return on equity of 9.48%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Up 2.2 %

BHLB stock opened at $20.98 on Friday. Berkshire Hills Bancorp has a 12 month low of $18.07 and a 12 month high of $25.79. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $911.79 million, a PE ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Berkshire Hills Bancorp news, Director Michael Zaitzeff sold 20,028 shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total value of $495,292.44. Following the transaction, the director now owns 288,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,134,184.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Berkshire Hills Bancorp news, Director Michael Zaitzeff sold 20,028 shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total value of $495,292.44. Following the transaction, the director now owns 288,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,134,184.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Baye Adofo-Wilson sold 10,074 shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total transaction of $223,542.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 224,788 shares of company stock worth $5,239,449. 1.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Berkshire Hills Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $57,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $57,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 304.1% during the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,538 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 1,910 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Middle East FZE purchased a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $119,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

About Berkshire Hills Bancorp

Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Berkshire Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company provides various deposit accounts, including demand deposit, interest-bearing checking, regular savings, money market savings, time certificates of deposit, and retirement deposit accounts.