Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes $2.54 Million Position in Customers Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:CUBI)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Customers Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:CUBI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 52,244 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $2,543,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.17% of Customers Bancorp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Customers Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $26,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Customers Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Customers Bancorp by 82.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,495 shares of the bank's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Customers Bancorp by 143.4% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,633 shares of the bank's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 962 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Customers Bancorp by 323.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,643 shares of the bank's stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. 89.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CUBI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Customers Bancorp from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Maxim Group raised their price target on shares of Customers Bancorp from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Customers Bancorp from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $58.00 target price on shares of Customers Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Customers Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.00.

Customers Bancorp Price Performance

Customers Bancorp stock traded up $0.95 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $51.73. The company had a trading volume of 198,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 366,026. Customers Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $42.31 and a 12-month high of $68.49. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $53.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.18 and a beta of 1.74.

Customers Bancorp (NYSE:CUBI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.15. Customers Bancorp had a net margin of 13.07% and a return on equity of 12.29%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Customers Bancorp, Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Customers Bancorp

In related news, insider Glenn Hedde sold 15,815 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.25, for a total transaction of $921,223.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 55,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,216,040.75. This trade represents a 22.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jay S. Sidhu sold 67,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.82, for a total transaction of $3,806,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 965,723 shares in the company, valued at $54,872,380.86. The trade was a 6.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 115,988 shares of company stock worth $6,627,318 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.92% of the company's stock.

Customers Bancorp Profile

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.