<div id="readability-page-1"><p>EJF Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of  Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities &amp; Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 181,183 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $4,727,000. Berkshire Hills Bancorp makes up  approximately  3.0% of EJF Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. EJF Capital LLC owned 0.39% of Berkshire Hills Bancorp as of its most recent SEC filing.</p><p>Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in shares of  Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 12,917 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $337,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the period.  Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in  Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 23,447 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $612,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares in the last quarter.  Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of  Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 153.6% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 31,700 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $827,000 after buying an additional 19,200 shares in the last quarter.  Strategic Value Bank Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of  Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 134.6% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Value Bank Partners LLC now owns 530,489 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $13,840,000 after buying an additional 304,376 shares in the last quarter.  Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of  Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 226,935 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $5,921,000 after buying an additional 22,454 shares in the last quarter. 83.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. </p><h2>Berkshire Hills Bancorp Trading Down 2.5%</h2><p>NYSE BHLB opened at $25.66 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $25.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.61. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.27 and a 12 month high of $32.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 10.02 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. </p><p>Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.11. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 15.93%.The company had revenue of $113.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.34 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year.  On average, analysts expect that  Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year. </p><h2>Berkshire Hills Bancorp Announces Dividend</h2><p>The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.13%. </p><h2>Berkshire Hills Bancorp Profile</h2> (Free Report)<p>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.</p><h2>Featured Stories</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Berkshire Hills Bancorp</li><li>EV Stocks and How to Profit from Them </li><li>With Rate Cuts Ahead, Buffett-Backed Builders Look Like a Buy</li><li>Pros And Cons Of Monthly Dividend Stocks</li><li>Return of the ETFs: 3 Names That Could Keep Outperforming</li><li>What does consumer price index measure? </li><li>Back-to-School Shopping Hits $40B: 3 Retail Stocks to Watch Now</li></ul><p><strong>Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BHLB?</strong> Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB - Free Report).</p><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPUJITEI?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPUJITEI"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Berkshire Hills Bancorp Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Berkshire Hills Bancorp, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Berkshire Hills Bancorp wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Berkshire Hills Bancorp currently has a Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

BHLB

<p>EJF Capital LLC has invested $4.73 million in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, acquiring 181,183 shares, making it the firm's 5th largest position. Other hedge funds have also increased their stakes in the company. Berkshire Hills Bancorp's stock is currently trading down 2.5% at $25.66, with a market cap of $1.19 billion. The company recently reported earnings of $0.69 per share, exceeding estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18, yielding 2.8%.</p>

EJF Capital LLC Invests $4.73 Million in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. $BHLB