Nuveen LLC Takes Position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. $BHLB

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has invested approximately $17.97 million in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, acquiring 688,613 shares, which represents about 1.48% ownership of the company.
• Berkshire Hills Bancorp recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.8% with a payout ratio of 28.13%.
• The company reported earnings per share of $0.69 for the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations by $0.11, and also achieved a revenue of $113.67 million.

Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 688,613 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $17,966,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 1.48% of Berkshire Hills Bancorp as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 2.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,257,565 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $137,170,000 after buying an additional 105,497 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,686,281 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $76,371,000 after purchasing an additional 10,579 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 5.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,355,863 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $35,374,000 after purchasing an additional 64,316 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,410,000. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 999,861 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $28,426,000 after purchasing an additional 47,234 shares during the period. 83.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Trading Down 1.0%

BHLB stock traded down $0.2530 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $26.3770. 198,106 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 403,245. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.30 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.73. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.27 and a 12-month high of $32.36.

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

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $32.75.

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.