Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $534,000 in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 21,500 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $534,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 17.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,382,777 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,725,000 after buying an additional 201,948 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 397,579 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $7,971,000 after purchasing an additional 53,162 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 8.7% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 205,597 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $4,122,000 after purchasing an additional 16,440 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the third quarter worth $719,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 1.0% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 208,947 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $4,189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,115 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE BHLB opened at $21.95 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $953.95 million, a P/E ratio of 43.90 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.07 and a 1 year high of $25.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $21.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.29.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The savings and loans company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $169.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $107.89 million. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 3.40%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 144.00%.

Insider Transactions at Berkshire Hills Bancorp

In related news, Director Michael Zaitzeff sold 19,660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.20, for a total value of $436,452.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 200,054 shares in the company, valued at $4,441,198.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Baye Adofo-Wilson sold 10,074 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael Zaitzeff sold 19,660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.20, for a total value of $436,452.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 200,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,441,198.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 172,878 shares of company stock worth $3,932,356 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.