BidaskClub upgraded shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, BidAskClub reports.
Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on BHLB. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $13.00 to $12.50 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Compass Point raised Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $13.50 to $16.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Finally, Zacks Investment Research raised Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $15.38.
Shares of NYSE BHLB opened at $19.35 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $17.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Berkshire Hills Bancorp has a 1-year low of $8.55 and a 1-year high of $32.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $983.60 million, a P/E ratio of -1.86 and a beta of 1.20.
Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The savings and loans company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.40. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a positive return on equity of 3.61% and a negative net margin of 102.52%. The company had revenue of $97.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $96.60 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Berkshire Hills Bancorp will post 0.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 16th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 20.00%.
In related news, Director D Jeffrey Templeton sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.02, for a total value of $152,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,343 shares in the company, valued at $482,023.86. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Highlander Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 299.0% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,119 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 3,836 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 15.9% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 6,037 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares during the period. Brinker Capital Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA boosted its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 210.3% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 11,188 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 7,582 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.54% of the company’s stock.
About Berkshire Hills Bancorp
Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc operates as a bank holding company for Berkshire Bank that provides various banking products and services. It offers various deposit accounts, including demand deposit, NOW, regular savings, money market savings, time certificates of deposit, and retirement deposit accounts; and loans, such as commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, consumer, and residential mortgage loans.
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