Short Interest in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) Expands By 25.8%

Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) was the target of 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. Approximately 5.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 493,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 282.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,112 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 821 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 142.7% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,291 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 805.3% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,376 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,224 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 2,259.4% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,265 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 2,169 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Performance

NYSE BHLB opened at $26.27 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $27.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.28. Berkshire Hills Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $20.50 and a fifty-two week high of $32.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 8.91%. Sell-side analysts predict that Berkshire Hills Bancorp will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler raised Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on 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 restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.