Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) Short Interest Up 25.8% in March

Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) saw a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,490,000 shares, an increase of 25.8% from the February 28th total of 1,980,000 shares. Approximately 5.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 493,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Piper Sandler raised Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Berkshire Hills Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.13.

Insider Activity at Berkshire Hills Bancorp

In other news, EVP Ellen Tulchiner sold 1,052 shares of the company’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 transaction of $31,528.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Berkshire Hills Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in 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 during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 142.7% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,291 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 805.3% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,376 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 2,259.4% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,265 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 2,169 shares in the last quarter. 83.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of BHLB traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $26.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 483,687 shares, compared to its average volume of 472,008. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50-day moving average is $27.93 and its 200-day moving average is $28.30. 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 has a 52-week low of $20.50 and a 52-week high of $32.36.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, equities research analysts forecast that Berkshire Hills Bancorp will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s payout ratio is 50.00%.

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.