Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 882,900 shares, a growth of 12.7% from the November 30th total of 783,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 325,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BHLB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Berkshire Hills Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.70.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of BHLB traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $28.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 243,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 278,325. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Berkshire Hills Bancorp has a 12-month low of $20.50 and a 12-month high of $32.36. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 29.72 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50 day moving average is $29.47 and its 200 day moving average is $27.01.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.03. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 8.68%. The business had revenue of $125.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.61 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Berkshire Hills Bancorp will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Berkshire Hills Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BHLB. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. nVerses Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 233.3% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $104,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 58.5% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,879 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Finally, Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC purchased a new position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $211,000. 83.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.