New York Community Bancorp (NYSE:NYCB) saw shares blast up nearly 15% in the closing minutes of Friday’s trading session despite being slammed by analysts and credit downgrades. Thursday saw a third credit downgrade hit the bank, as Morningstar joined in the credit-cutting frenzy started by Moody’s and carried on by Fitch.
Morningstar slashed its own rating, noting that, while New York Community’s liquidity was looking decent enough, customers could still get spooked about anything that might seem like a bank failure already in progress. Such concern might make for a self-fulfilling prophecy that sends depositors and investors alike screaming for the exits.
Screaming for the Entrance Instead
It turns out that the recent share price decline in the wake of the first two cuts has sent share prices down so low that they haven’t been this cheap in years. Decades, actually; reports suggest that, for a while, share prices were down around 1997 levels. That proved far too attractive a proposition for some, especially given that New York Community came back noting that it had ample liquidity to handle virtually any problem it encountered.
What is the Target Price for NYCB Shares?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on NYCB stock based on one Buy, 12 Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 47.08% loss in its share price over the past year, the average NYCB price target of $6.42 per share implies 31.56% upside potential.
