Systematic Financial Management LP Boosts Stock Position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

Systematic Financial Management LP grew its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 999,861 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after buying an additional 47,234 shares during the quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP owned 2.33% of Berkshire Hills Bancorp worth $28,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BHLB. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 282.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,112 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 142.7% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,291 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 805.3% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,376 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,224 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 2,259.4% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,265 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 57.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,869 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of BHLB stock opened at $26.59 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.46 and a beta of 0.53. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.76 and a 52-week high of $32.36. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $25.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.70. 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 (NYSE:BHLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $110.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.71 million. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 8.56%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp's dividend payout ratio 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BHLB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.