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

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

Customers Bancorp Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CUBI traded up $0.26 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $46.60. 110,404 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 286,343. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $51.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 1.67. Customers Bancorp has a 12-month low of $15.80 and a 12-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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $191.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $187.87 million. Customers Bancorp had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 18.75%. On average, research analysts predict that Customers Bancorp will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Customers Bancorp

In related news, insider Glenn Hedde sold 666 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 69,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,762,997.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Carla A. Leibold sold 35,832 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.15, for a total value of $1,904,470.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 41,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,191,055.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenn Hedde sold 666 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now owns 69,428 shares in the company, valued at $3,762,997.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Customers Bancorp

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Customers Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Gyon Technologies Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Customers Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Customers Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $78,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Customers Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Customers Bancorp by 129.2% in the 1st 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 period. 89.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on CUBI. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Customers Bancorp from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. B. Riley upped their price target on Customers Bancorp from $62.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Wedbush decreased their price objective on Customers Bancorp from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Customers Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.86.

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.