Yes, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares are under $100 right now. The CBA share price first crossed the $100 mark almost exactly two years ago, back in May 2021. It has been above that mark most of the time since, and even briefly crossed $110 a share earlier this year.
But, as it stands as of yesterday's close, CBA shares last went for $95.89 a share.
No, we all know CBA. It is the largest and most dominant ASX 200 bank share on the market by far, with a market capitalisation of over $160 billion. At several points in its history, it was also the largest publically-traded company in the country.
It is also often touted as the best-run bank on the ASX. Shareholders would have to be pleased with the bank's fundamental performance over the past year as well.
For one, CBA lifted its 2023 interim dividend to a fully-franked $2.10 earlier this year. That was a healthy rise over 2022's commensurate payment of $1.75. Last year's final dividend of $2.10 (also fully franked) was also a decent rise over the previous corresponding payment of $2.
Not only that, but CBA has been undertaking significant share buybacks in recent months too, further boosting the returns of shareholders.
But does that make CBA shares a buy today? Let's discuss whether we should all be snapping up CBA shares while they are under $100 each.
Is the CBA share price a bargain buy under $100?
Sadly for shareholders, it's hard to find a broker on the ASX who is recommending anything other than selling Commonwealth Bank shares right now. Last month, ASX broker Morgan Stanley downgraded its outlook on CBA shares to underweight. It gave the ASX bank share a 12-month price target of just $82.
The broker cited "entrenched mortgage discounting, emerging deposit competition and mix shift, and higher wholesale funding costs" for the pessimism.
Morgan Stanley isn't alone either. Goldman Sachs has also recently rated CBA shares as a sell. It has a share price target of $84.97 on the bank. Goldman's sell rating comes largely from valuation concerns, with the broker noting that "we estimate that CBA is currently trading at a 120% premium against where we estimate its forecast ROE [return on equity] justifies it trading at".
So when it comes to at least these two ASX brokers, CBA shares are most certainly not a buy at their current share price, despite the lack of three digits.
