Short Interest in Customers Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:CUBI) Rises By 5.9%

Customers Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:CUBI) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,980,000 shares, an increase of 5.9% from the March 15th total of 1,870,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 284,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.0 days. Currently, 6.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Glenn Hedde sold 666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.20, for a total value of $36,097.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 69,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,762,997.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Carla A. Leibold sold 35,832 shares of Customers Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.15, for a total value of $1,904,470.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 41,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,191,055.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenn Hedde sold 666 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.20, for a total transaction of $36,097.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 69,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,762,997.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Customers Bancorp by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 71,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,091,000 after purchasing an additional 24,000 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Customers Bancorp by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,546 shares of the bank’s stock worth $723,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares during the last quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Customers Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $696,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Customers Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $183,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Customers Bancorp by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 81,576 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,700,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. 89.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Customers Bancorp Price Performance

NYSE:CUBI traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $46.14. 94,490 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 286,362. Customers Bancorp has a one year low of $15.80 and a one year high of $60.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $52.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.26. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.29 and a beta of 1.67.

Customers Bancorp (NYSE:CUBI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.14. Customers Bancorp had a return on equity of 18.75% and a net margin of 17.23%. The business had revenue of $191.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $187.87 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Customers Bancorp will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CUBI. Raymond James upped their target price on Customers Bancorp from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. B. Riley increased their target price on Customers Bancorp from $62.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Customers Bancorp from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of Customers Bancorp from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.86.

Customers Bancorp Company Profile

Customers Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Customers Bank that provides financial products and services to individual consumers, and small and middle market businesses. The company provides deposit banking products, which includes commercial and consumer checking, non-interest-bearing and interest-bearing demand, MMDA, savings, and time deposit accounts.