Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 181.7% during the 1st quarter, acquiring an additional 22,900 shares, bringing its total shares to 35,500, valued at approximately $926,000.
• The company recently reported $0.69 earnings per share, surpassing the consensus estimate by $0.11, and its revenue increased by 4.6% year-over-year.
• Berkshire Hills Bancorp announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, representing a 3.0% dividend yield, with the next payment scheduled for August 21st.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB - Free Report) by 181.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,500 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,900 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned 0.08% of Berkshire Hills Bancorp worth $926,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 130.9% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,374 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 759 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 805.3% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,376 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 2,259.4% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,265 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 508.7% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,413 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 3,688 shares during the period. 83.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Price Performance

NYSE:BHLB traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $24.31. 347,801 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 444,748. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.27 and a 1 year high of $32.36. The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $25.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.04.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.11. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a net margin of 15.93% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $113.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.34 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 28.13%.

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.