Analysts Set Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) Target Price at $31.13

Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment 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. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.13.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Performance

NYSE BHLB opened at $26.26 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business’s 50 day moving average is $28.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23 and a beta of 0.85. 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 data on Thursday, January 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.06. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 8.56%. Research analysts expect that Berkshire Hills Bancorp will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Insider Activity at Berkshire Hills Bancorp

In other news, EVP Ellen Tulchiner sold 1,052 shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.97, for a total transaction of $31,528.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Berkshire Hills Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BHLB. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $215,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 137,820 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $3,711,000 after acquiring an additional 6,968 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 37.1% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 37,071 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $998,000 after purchasing an additional 10,022 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 13.2% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,423 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 1,565 shares during the last quarter. 83.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.