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

Shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.13.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BHLB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of 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 research report on Monday, December 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ellen Tulchiner sold 1,052 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.97, for a total value of $31,528.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BHLB. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $298,000. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 233.3% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $241,000. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 38.4% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,031 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 3,615 shares during the period. Finally, Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $211,000. 83.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of BHLB stock opened at $28.07 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $28.72 and its 200 day moving average is $28.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.49 and a beta of 0.88. Berkshire Hills Bancorp has a 12 month low of $20.50 and a 12 month high of $32.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.06. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 8.56%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Berkshire Hills Bancorp will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.00%.

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.