Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $358,000 in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 12,600 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $358,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BHLB. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 282.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 142.7% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,291 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,224 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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 worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 57.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,869 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 1,051 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.07% of the company's stock.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Trading Down 1.8%

BHLB traded down $0.44 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $24.59. 241,255 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 391,622. The company's fifty day moving average price is $24.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08 and a beta of 0.53. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.76 and a fifty-two week high of $32.36.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. The company had revenue of $110.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.71 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp's payout ratio is 29.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.13.

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.