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 increased its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB - Free Report) by 81.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,326 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,903 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.05% of Berkshire Hills Bancorp worth $635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 1.4% during the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 34,290 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $895,000 after buying an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 10,423 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 12,917 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 16,543 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 10,292 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.07% of the company's stock.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of BHLB traded up $0.27 on Friday, reaching $24.31. 347,801 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 487,531. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $25.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.07. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 0.66. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $113.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.34 million. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a net margin of 15.93% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The business's revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Berkshire Hills Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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 research note on Monday, April 28th.

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.