Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) Position Cut by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB - Free Report) by 22.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,309 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 14,201 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Berkshire Hills Bancorp worth $1,373,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BHLB. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $29,410,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 623.8% during the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 516,603 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $14,687,000 after acquiring an additional 445,228 shares in the last quarter. Bayview Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,330,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 79.3% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 537,221 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $15,273,000 after purchasing an additional 237,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,291,547 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $36,719,000 after purchasing an additional 222,162 shares in the last quarter. 83.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.13.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:BHLB traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $25.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 38,519 shares, compared to its average volume of 384,958. The firm has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.76 and a 1 year high of $32.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $25.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.56.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 8.56%. The company had revenue of $110.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.71 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.15%.

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.