AlphaQuest LLC Has $543,000 Position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

AlphaQuest LLC lowered its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) by 25.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,112 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 6,482 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp were worth $543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,664,138 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $44,815,000 after purchasing an additional 293,784 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,672,000. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 952,627 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $25,654,000 after purchasing an additional 114,433 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 28.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 340,694 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $9,175,000 after purchasing an additional 75,476 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 61.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 190,673 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $5,135,000 after purchasing an additional 72,402 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Price Performance

Berkshire Hills Bancorp stock opened at $26.04 on Thursday. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.50 and a 52-week high of $32.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $28.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.35. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08 and a beta of 0.85.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.06. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 8.56%. On average, equities analysts predict that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Berkshire Hills Bancorp news, EVP Ellen Tulchiner sold 1,052 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.97, for a total transaction of $31,528.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Berkshire Hills Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.13.

About Berkshire Hills Bancorp

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.