Empowered Funds LLC Has $3.71 Million Stock Holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 137,820 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,968 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp were worth $3,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,632,671 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $60,024,000 after buying an additional 36,521 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 6.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 624,192 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $14,232,000 after purchasing an additional 38,327 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 60.4% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 422,621 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $9,636,000 after purchasing an additional 159,200 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,330,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 126.0% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 183,616 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $4,186,000 after purchasing an additional 102,384 shares during the period. 83.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Performance

NYSE:BHLB opened at $30.20 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.79 and a beta of 0.86. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.50 and a fifty-two week high of $32.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.37.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.03. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 8.68%. The business had revenue of $125.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.61 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 75.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on BHLB shares. StockNews.com upgraded Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.80.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp 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.