Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $26.80.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Hovde Group boosted their price target on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, July 22nd.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Price Performance

NYSE BHLB opened at $26.09 on Wednesday. Berkshire Hills Bancorp has a 12 month low of $18.31 and a 12 month high of $28.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 52.18 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

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

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 144.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Berkshire Hills Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BHLB. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the second quarter worth $104,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,879 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $146,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 8,752 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 47.0% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 11,858 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789 shares during the last quarter. 83.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.