Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,490,000 shares, a growth of 25.8% from the February 28th total of 1,980,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 493,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.0 days. Currently, 5.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Berkshire Hills Bancorp news, EVP Ellen Tulchiner sold 1,052 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.97, for a total transaction of $31,528.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Berkshire Hills Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,686,281 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $76,371,000 after purchasing an additional 10,579 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,119,475 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $57,455,000 after buying an additional 18,307 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,664,138 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $44,815,000 after purchasing an additional 293,784 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,291,547 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $36,719,000 after buying an additional 222,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,410,000. 83.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE BHLB traded up $0.18 on Wednesday, reaching $26.27. The company had a trading volume of 304,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 334,649. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $27.84 and a 200-day moving average of $28.28. Berkshire Hills Bancorp has a 1 year low of $20.50 and a 1 year high of $32.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.24 and a beta of 0.58.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.06. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 8.56%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Berkshire Hills Bancorp will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 50.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Berkshire Hills Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.13.

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.