Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.13.

BHLB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of BHLB stock opened at $29.35 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.38 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Berkshire Hills Bancorp has a 52 week low of $20.50 and a 52 week high of $32.36.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.06. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 8.91%. Analysts predict that Berkshire Hills Bancorp will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Berkshire Hills Bancorp

In other Berkshire Hills Bancorp news, EVP Ellen Tulchiner sold 1,052 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.97, for a total value of $31,528.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BHLB. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 13,241 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 3.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,411 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 10,292 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 142.7% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,291 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 282.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,112 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. 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.