First Eagle Investment Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Customers Bancorp, Inc $CUBI

Key Points

• First Eagle Investment Management increased its stake in Customers Bancorp by 37.6% in the fourth quarter, ending with 139,293 shares valued at about $10.2 million. Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other investors holding 89.29% of the stock.
• Analysts are generally positive on CUBI, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.50. Recent actions were mixed, including upgrades from Stephens and Weiss Ratings and a target cut from JPMorgan.
• The bank posted strong quarterly results, earning $1.97 per share versus expectations of $1.88 and delivering revenue growth of 57.9% year over year. Customers Bancorp also authorized a $100 million share buyback, while insiders showed mixed activity with a recent executive sale and CEO purchase.

First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Customers Bancorp, Inc (NYSE:CUBI - Free Report) by 37.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 139,293 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 38,076 shares during the quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned 0.41% of Customers Bancorp worth $10,185,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Customers Bancorp by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,879 shares of the bank's stock worth $580,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Customers Bancorp by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 34,054 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,226,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Customers Bancorp by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the bank's stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of Customers Bancorp by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 8,668 shares of the bank's stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its holdings in shares of Customers Bancorp by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 6,000 shares of the bank's stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 89.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens raised shares of Customers Bancorp from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $71.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Customers Bancorp in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Customers Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, January 25th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Customers Bancorp from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Customers Bancorp from $90.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.50.

Insider Transactions at Customers Bancorp

In related news, EVP Philip Watkins sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.67, for a total value of $227,010.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,993 shares in the company, valued at $3,328,950.31. The trade was a 6.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Samvir S. Sidhu purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $72.58 per share, for a total transaction of $72,580.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 521,714 shares in the company, valued at $37,866,002.12. This represents a 0.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 10.45% of the company's stock.

Customers Bancorp Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:CUBI opened at $73.99 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $71.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.31. The company has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a PE ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Customers Bancorp, Inc has a 1-year low of $49.54 and a 1-year high of $82.56.

Customers Bancorp (NYSE:CUBI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $225.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $223.51 million. Customers Bancorp had a net margin of 18.63% and a return on equity of 14.12%. Customers Bancorp's revenue was up 57.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Customers Bancorp, Inc will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Customers Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to buy up to 4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Customers Bancorp

Customers Bancorp, Inc NYSE: CUBI is a bank holding company headquartered in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, and the parent of Customers Bank, a federally chartered institution. The company offers a full suite of commercial and consumer banking services, combining traditional deposit and lending products with modern digital banking platforms. As a publicly traded entity, Customers Bancorp focuses on delivering tailored financial solutions to mid‐market companies, small businesses, professionals and individuals across the United States.

Through its commercial banking division, the company provides term loans, lines of credit, real estate financing, asset‐based lending and treasury management services.

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