Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $29.70.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BHLB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target 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. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Price Performance

NYSE:BHLB opened at $28.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 29.79 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $29.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.88. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.03. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 5.86%. The firm had revenue of $125.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.61 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Berkshire Hills Bancorp will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 75.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. nVerses Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 233.3% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $104,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 58.5% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,879 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Finally, Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC bought a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.