J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Purchases New Shares in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 10,380 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BHLB. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 17,843 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 2.8% in the third quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 21,754 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Bank boosted its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 15.5% in the third quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 12,584 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 1,691 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 11.4% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 18,636 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 1,911 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ziegler Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC now owns 30,221 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $750,000 after acquiring an additional 1,957 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael Zaitzeff sold 51,910 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.18, for a total value of $1,307,093.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,104.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Baye Adofo-Wilson sold 10,074 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total value of $223,542.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael Zaitzeff sold 51,910 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.18, for a total value of $1,307,093.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,665 shares in the company, valued at $67,104.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 224,788 shares of company stock valued at $5,239,449. 1.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on BHLB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Piper Sandler upgraded Berkshire Hills Bancorp from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.00.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BHLB opened at $22.10 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $21.89 and its 200 day moving average is $22.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $960.47 million, a P/E ratio of 44.20 and a beta of 0.87. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.07 and a fifty-two week high of $25.79.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The savings and loans company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $169.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.89 million. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 8.77%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 144.00%.

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.