Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Has $4.45 Million Stock Holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 194,336 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 2,421 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 0.45% of Berkshire Hills Bancorp worth $4,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $146,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 8,752 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $219,000. Teton Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $240,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $258,000. 83.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of BHLB traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $28.00. 61,676 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 248,452. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.31 and a 52 week high of $28.51. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.74. The firm has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.58 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $174.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $108.46 million. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 8.61%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.1 EPS for the current year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 20th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 20th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 144.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on BHLB shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Hovde Group increased their price target on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Berkshire Hills Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.80.

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.