Customers Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:CUBI) Short Interest Up 5.9% in March

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

Customers Bancorp Price Performance

CUBI stock traded up $0.26 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.60. 110,404 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 286,343. The company has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50-day moving average of $51.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.35. Customers Bancorp has a twelve month low of $15.80 and a twelve month high of $60.09.

Customers Bancorp (NYSE:CUBI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $191.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.87 million. Customers Bancorp had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 18.75%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Customers Bancorp will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Customers Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CUBI. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Customers Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Gyon Technologies Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Customers Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Customers Bancorp by 129.2% in the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,223 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its position in Customers Bancorp by 722.5% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 2,673 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Customers Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $56,000. Institutional investors own 89.29% of the company’s stock.

About Customers Bancorp

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.