Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) Given New $34.50 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) had its price objective raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $32.00 to $34.50 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the savings and loans company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler raised shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Berkshire Hills Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.70.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of BHLB opened at $28.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s fifty day moving average is $29.43 and its 200 day moving average is $26.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Berkshire Hills Bancorp has a 12-month low of $20.50 and a 12-month high of $32.36.

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

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 75.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC grew 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 worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 4.9% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 22,799 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,071 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. nVerses Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 233.3% during 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. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,423 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 1,565 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Company Profile

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.