Glendon Capital Management LP Buys New Position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

Glendon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 172,413 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,902,000. Berkshire Hills Bancorp accounts for about 0.3% of Glendon Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lifted its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 623.8% in the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 516,603 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $14,687,000 after purchasing an additional 445,228 shares during the period. Cinctive Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $2,048,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 441,143 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $12,542,000 after purchasing an additional 99,538 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,769,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 243,995 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $6,937,000 after buying an additional 53,322 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of BHLB opened at $26.27 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $27.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24 and a beta of 0.58. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.50 and a 52 week 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.

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

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ellen Tulchiner sold 1,052 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.97, for a total value of $31,528.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Piper Sandler upgraded Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.