Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Raises Stock Position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) by 345.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,594 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 53,970 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned about 0.16% of Berkshire Hills Bancorp worth $1,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 282.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 142.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 805.3% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,376 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 2,259.4% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,265 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 2,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 57.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,869 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:BHLB opened at $25.56 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.75 and a beta of 0.53. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $20.76 and a one year high of $32.36. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $110.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.71 million. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 8.56%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s payout ratio is 29.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Berkshire Hills Bancorp

In other news, EVP Ellen Tulchiner sold 1,052 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.97, for a total transaction of $31,528.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.