Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB – Get Rating) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.00.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Compass Point lowered shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $29.00 to $23.00 in a report on Thursday, April 21st. StockNews.com started coverage on Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 12th.

In other news, Director Michael Zaitzeff sold 1,274,279 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.70, for a total transaction of $31,474,691.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank N A MO bought a new position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 112.3% in the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,533 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the period. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 100.5% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 1,568 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $87,000. 82.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp stock opened at $24.18 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $25.88 and a 200-day moving average of $28.19. Berkshire Hills Bancorp has a 52-week low of $23.15 and a 52-week high of $31.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.37 and a beta of 1.07.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 20th. The savings and loans company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.02. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.67% and a net margin of 27.75%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Berkshire Hills Bancorp will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 12th were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 11th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 18.60%.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Company Profile (Get Rating)

Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Berkshire Bank that provides various banking products and services. It offers various deposit accounts, including demand deposit, NOW, regular savings, money market savings, time certificates of deposit, and retirement deposit accounts; and loans, such as commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, consumer, and residential mortgage loans.

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