Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 10,903 Shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank increased its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 81.2% during the first quarter, owning approximately 0.05% of the company valued at $635,000.
• Other institutional investors, like Quarry LP and Russell Investments Group Ltd., significantly increased their holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, indicating strong interest from the hedge fund community.
• Berkshire Hills Bancorp reported $0.69 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 scheduled for August 21st.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB - Free Report) by 81.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,326 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after buying an additional 10,903 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.05% of Berkshire Hills Bancorp worth $635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BHLB. Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 4.2% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 12,917 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 3.0% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 23,447 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 153.6% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 31,700 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 19,200 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 11.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 226,935 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $5,921,000 after purchasing an additional 22,454 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Value Bank Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 134.6% during the first quarter. Strategic Value Bank Partners LLC now owns 530,489 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $13,840,000 after purchasing an additional 304,376 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $31.00 target price 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, reaching $24.31. 347,801 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 444,748. The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 0.66. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.27 and a 1-year high of $32.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average of $25.32 and a 200 day moving average of $26.03.

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

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. 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.