Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $60.02 Million Position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,632,671 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,521 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.06% of Berkshire Hills Bancorp worth $60,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $104,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 624,192 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $14,232,000 after purchasing an additional 38,327 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 33.5% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 49,903 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 12,528 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 57.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 38,821 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $885,000 after purchasing an additional 14,149 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $676,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Price Performance

Berkshire Hills Bancorp stock opened at $26.73 on Friday. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.31 and a 52-week high of $28.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.46 and a beta of 0.86.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.03. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.61% and a net margin of 3.37%. The company had revenue of $174.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $108.46 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 144.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on BHLB shares. Hovde Group increased their target price on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott cut Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Berkshire Hills Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.80.

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.