B. Riley Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Customers Bancorp (NYSE:CUBI) Stock

Key Points

• B. Riley Financial raised its price target on Customers Bancorp to $110 from $104 and maintained a Buy rating, implying about 29% upside from the stock’s then-current price.
• Analyst opinion is mixed but leans positive: MarketBeat reported a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $95.67, below B. Riley’s forecast.
• Customers Bancorp reported quarterly EPS of $2.27, topping the $2.14 consensus estimate; revenue of $240.24 million also exceeded analyst expectations.

Customers Bancorp (NYSE:CUBI - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at B. Riley Financial from $104.00 to $110.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the bank's stock. B. Riley Financial's target price points to a potential upside of 29.37% from the stock's current price.

CUBI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $97.00 target price on shares of Customers Bancorp in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Customers Bancorp from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Customers Bancorp from $91.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. DA Davidson set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Customers Bancorp in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (up from $92.00) on shares of Customers Bancorp in a research note on Monday, October 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $95.67.

Customers Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Customers Bancorp stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Thursday, hitting $85.03. The stock had a trading volume of 7,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 336,086. The firm has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 1.43. Customers Bancorp has a 12 month low of $63.44 and a 12 month high of $89.60. The business's 50-day moving average is $79.11 and its 200 day moving average is $76.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Customers Bancorp (NYSE:CUBI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.13. Customers Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.73% and a net margin of 19.11%. The company had revenue of $240.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $237.18 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Customers Bancorp will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Customers Bancorp

In other news, EVP Philip Watkins sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.17, for a total value of $473,935.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 41,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,541,759.34. This trade represents a 11.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director T. Way sold 723 shares of Customers Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.16, for a total transaction of $61,570.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 77,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,633,112.40. The trade was a 0.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 105,019 shares of company stock worth $8,998,514. 10.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Customers Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Customers Bancorp by 6.9% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 120,133 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,890,000 after acquiring an additional 7,761 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Customers Bancorp by 3.1% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 28,492 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,108,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the period. Virtus Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Customers Bancorp by 16.1% in the third quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC now owns 3,571 shares of the bank's stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Customers Bancorp by 0.5% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 96,166 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,116,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Customers Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $288,000. 89.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Customers Bancorp

Customers Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company and the parent of Customers Bank, a commercial bank headquartered in West Reading, Pennsylvania. Founded in 2009, the company provides banking services to businesses, professionals and individuals. Customers Bank offers commercial and consumer deposit accounts, payment and cash-management services, and lending. Its business lending includes financing for commercial real estate, equipment, healthcare, and small businesses, along with banking services for venture-backed companies.

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