Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED SHAREHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market Information
The common shares of the Company trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “BHLB”.
The Company had approximately 3,661 holders of record of common stock at February 23, 2024.
Dividends
The Company intends to pay regular cash dividends to common shareholders; however, there is no assurance as to future dividends because they are dependent on the Company’s future earnings, capital requirements, financial condition, and regulatory environment. Dividends from the Bank have been a source of cash used by the Company to pay its dividends, and these dividends from the Bank are dependent on the Bank’s future earnings, capital requirements, and financial condition. Dividends from the Bank are allowed within statutory limits under Massachusetts statutes and are currently subject to approval by the FDIC. Further information about dividend restrictions is disclosed in Note 17 - Shareholders’ Equity and Earnings per Common Share of the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Securities
The Company occasionally issues unregistered shares of common stock to vendors or as consideration in contracts for the purchase of assets, services, or operations. During 2023 and 2022, there were no shares transferred.
Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchases
On January 25, 2023, the Company announced that its Board of Directors approved a stock repurchase program pursuant to which the Company is authorized to repurchase shares of Company common stock at a total cost of up to $50 million through December 31, 2023. This program expired at year-end 2023.
On January 25, 2024, the Company announced that its Board of Directors approved a stock repurchase program pursuant to which the Company is authorized to repurchase shares of Company common stock at a total cost of up to $40 million through December 31, 2024.
Period Total number of
shares purchased Average price
paid per share Total number of shares
purchased as part of
publicly announced
plans or programs Maximum number of
shares that may yet
be purchased under
the plans or programs
October 1-31, 2023 151,027 $ 19.16 151,027 1,055,914
November 1-30, 2023 124,090 20.38 124,090 931,824
December 1-31, 2023 52,831 22.43 52,831 —
Total 327,948 $ 20.15 327,948 —
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Common Stock Performance Graph
The performance graph compares the Company’s cumulative shareholder return on its common stock over the last five years to the cumulative return of the NYSE Composite Index and the KBW NASDAQ Regional Banking Index. Total shareholder return is measured by dividing total dividends (assuming dividend reinvestment) for the measurement period plus share price change for a period by the share price at the beginning of the measurement period. The Company’s cumulative shareholder return over a five-year period is based on an initial investment of $100 on December 31, 2018. The performance graph represents past performance and should not be considered to be an indication of future performance.
Information used on the graph and table was obtained from a third party provider, a source believed to be reliable, but the Company is not responsible for any errors or omissions in such information.
Period Ending
Index 12/31/18 12/31/19 12/31/20 12/31/21 12/31/22 12/31/23
Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. 100.00 125.69 68.86 116.51 124.86 106.96
NYSE Composite Index 100.00 125.51 134.28 162.04 146.89 167.12
KBW NASDAQ Regional Banking Index 100.00 123.81 113.03 154.45 143.75 143.17
Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence
ITEM 6. RESERVED
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