Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) Earns “Sector Perform” Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating reissued by Royal Bank of Canada in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $31.00 price target on the savings and loans company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price indicates a potential upside of 4.50% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on BHLB. Seaport Res Ptn raised Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.13.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Up 1.8 %

BHLB traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $29.67. 106,145 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 389,616. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Berkshire Hills Bancorp has a 12-month low of $20.50 and a 12-month high of $32.36. The firm has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.22 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.10 and a 200 day moving average of $27.92.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) last announced its quarterly 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 8.68% and a net margin of 5.86%. Analysts predict that Berkshire Hills Bancorp will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 105.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 96,380 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $2,595,000 after acquiring an additional 49,356 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,119,475 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $57,455,000 after purchasing an additional 18,307 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 13.7% in the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 952,627 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $25,654,000 after buying an additional 114,433 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $5,135,000 after buying an additional 72,402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,672,000. 83.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.