Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Buys Shares of 36,738 Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 36,738 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $1,044,000. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP owned approximately 0.09% of Berkshire Hills Bancorp as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $34,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake 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 worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares during the last quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC acquired a new position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 38.4% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,031 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 3,615 shares in the last quarter. 83.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BHLB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.50 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Four equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.13.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ellen Tulchiner sold 1,052 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.97, for a total transaction of $31,528.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company's stock.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Performance

NYSE BHLB traded down $1.12 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $26.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 287,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 393,778. The business's fifty day moving average price is $28.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.35. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.50 and a twelve month high of $32.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75 and a beta of 0.88.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.00%.

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.