Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN) shares closed 0.2% higher on Wednesday afternoon, at $10.21 a piece. In November so far, the shares have declined by 20.54% and are now 23.23% lower than this time last year.
What happened to Bendigo Bank shares?
The bank reported its first-quarter results in early November. Investors weren't impressed. Bendigo Bank reported a 3.2% drop in cash earnings after tax for the first quarter of FY26. This was also a 3.2% drop in the average quarterly earnings for the H1 FY25. Its residential lending was also 5.6% lower over the quarter. Although there was better news on the business lending front, with growth of 2.9%.
Earlier this week, the bank's shares were hammered again. This time, the sell-off followed the results of an independent Deloitte investigation into suspicious activities at one of its branches between 1 August 2019 and 1 August 2025. Bendigo Bank engaged Deloitte to conduct the investigation after it identified and reported suspicious activity.
The Deloitte review concluded that deficiencies in the bank's approach to identifying, mitigating, and managing money laundering and terrorism financing risk existed throughout the six-year period.
And Deloitte discovered that these deficiencies weren't limited to the single branch either. The report identified weaknesses and deficiencies across many key aspects of Bendigo Bank's Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing risk management approaches.
In response, the board said it is very disappointed with the findings. It added that it is fully committed to ensuring that the bank undertakes necessary enhancements to ensure it is compliant with its obligations.
Are they a buy, hold, or sell?
TradingView data shows that analysts are pretty bearish on Bendigo Bank shares. Out of 14 analysts, 8 have a hold rating and 5 have a strong sell rating.
The average target price for the stock is $10.86, which, after the latest price plunge, represents a potential 6.37% upside over the next 12 months. Some analysts believe the shares could drop to $7.39, implying a 27.62% downside for investors.
The team and Macquarie have assigned an underperform rating and a $10.50 price target to the shares. This implies a potential 2.84% upside is ahead for the bank. The broker said that it's not overly impressed with Bendigo Bank's latest results. The team said its trading update was "weak" and costs were also materially higher. The team said the results missed consensus expectations by 8%.
My take? I think Bendigo Bank shares are probably approaching the bottom. I'd sit tight for now.
