Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Acquires Shares of 16,701 Customers Bancorp, Inc $CUBI

Key Points

• Wakefield Asset Management disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Customers Bancorp, buying 16,701 shares worth about $1.22 million.
• Customers Bancorp beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, reporting $1.97 EPS versus $1.88 expected, while revenue rose 57.9% year over year to $225.4 million.
• The bank also authorized a $100 million share buyback, and analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $87.50.

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new stake in shares of Customers Bancorp, Inc (NYSE:CUBI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 16,701 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,221,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CUBI. Anatole Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Customers Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $17,593,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Customers Bancorp by 448.8% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 327,784 shares of the bank's stock valued at $21,427,000 after purchasing an additional 268,056 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Customers Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $15,150,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Customers Bancorp by 247,273.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 222,636 shares of the bank's stock valued at $16,279,000 after purchasing an additional 222,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Customers Bancorp by 3,173.3% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 158,429 shares of the bank's stock valued at $10,357,000 after purchasing an additional 153,589 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.29% of the company's stock.

Customers Bancorp Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:CUBI opened at $72.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Customers Bancorp, Inc has a 12 month low of $49.54 and a 12 month high of $82.56. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $72.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.39. The company has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.19 and a beta of 1.52.

Customers Bancorp (NYSE:CUBI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.97 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $225.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $223.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.54 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 57.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Customers Bancorp, Inc will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Customers Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Stephens raised 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 report on Monday, March 16th. B. Riley Financial reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Customers Bancorp in a report on Monday, January 26th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Customers Bancorp from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Customers Bancorp from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.50.

Insider Transactions at Customers Bancorp

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