Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) Stock Holdings Increased by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 144,832 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,012 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.34% of Berkshire Hills Bancorp worth $4,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. nVerses Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 233.3% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 57.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,869 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Finally, Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Performance

BHLB stock opened at $29.50 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.49 and a beta of 0.88. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.50 and a 12 month high of $32.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $28.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.09.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.06. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 8.91%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 50.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on BHLB shares. Piper Sandler raised shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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 research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.13.

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.