Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Buys 222,546 Shares of Customers Bancorp, Inc $CUBI

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management dramatically increased its stake in Customers Bancorp, buying 222,546 additional shares in the fourth quarter and bringing its total holding to 222,636 shares, worth about $16.3 million.
• Customers Bancorp beat quarterly expectations, posting $1.97 EPS versus $1.88 expected and revenue of $225.4 million, with revenue up 57.9% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but positive overall, with the stock carrying a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.50; the company also authorized a $100 million share repurchase plan.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Customers Bancorp, Inc (NYSE:CUBI - Free Report) by 247,273.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 222,636 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 222,546 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned approximately 0.65% of Customers Bancorp worth $16,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Access Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Customers Bancorp by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 132,415 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,656,000 after purchasing an additional 18,000 shares during the period. EJF Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Customers Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,711,000. Fortress Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Customers Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,860,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Customers Bancorp by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 179,762 shares of the bank's stock worth $11,751,000 after purchasing an additional 34,081 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Customers Bancorp by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 421,852 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,428,000 after purchasing an additional 23,129 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CUBI shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Customers Bancorp from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Customers Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Customers Bancorp from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on shares of Customers Bancorp from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of Customers Bancorp from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $71.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.50.

Customers Bancorp Stock Up 0.0%

Customers Bancorp stock opened at $75.16 on Monday. Customers Bancorp, Inc has a 1-year low of $49.54 and a 1-year high of $82.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.54 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.94.

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

Customers Bancorp declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to repurchase up to 4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Customers Bancorp

In related news, Chairman Jay S. Sidhu sold 60,315 shares of Customers Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.23, for a total value of $4,597,812.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 767,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,510,870.11. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Philip Watkins sold 3,000 shares of Customers Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.67, for a total transaction of $227,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,328,950.31. This represents a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 10.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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