Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. $BHLB Shares Bought by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 37.7%, owning 144,631 shares valued at approximately $3.77 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several large investors have also significantly altered their positions, with Nuveen LLC acquiring approximately $17.97 million worth of shares.
• Berkshire Hills Bancorp recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, indicating a 2.9% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 28.13%.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB - Free Report) by 37.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 144,631 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after purchasing an additional 39,626 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.31% of Berkshire Hills Bancorp worth $3,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $17,966,000. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $253,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 5.0% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 193.9% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 110,444 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $2,881,000 after purchasing an additional 72,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 484,357 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $12,637,000 after purchasing an additional 61,050 shares in the last quarter. 83.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Up 4.9%

NYSE:BHLB traded up $1.25 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $26.66. 696,202 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 403,245. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.75. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.27 and a fifty-two week high of $32.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41 and a beta of 0.66.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $113.34 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. Berkshire Hills Bancorp's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors 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 was Thursday, August 14th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Royal Bank Of Canada restated 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 given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.75.

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.