Amundi Grows Stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

Amundi raised its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) by 187.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,470 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,337 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp were worth $571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,411 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 37.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 37,071 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $998,000 after purchasing an additional 10,022 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 13.2% in the 3rd 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 period. Finally, PDT Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 178.9% during the 3rd quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 32,327 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $871,000 after acquiring an additional 20,736 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of BHLB stock opened at $26.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.23 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.50 and a 52-week high of $32.36.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ellen Tulchiner sold 1,052 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.97, for a total value of $31,528.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BHLB shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler raised Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.13.

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.