Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $69.75.

CBU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of Community Financial System from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Community Financial System from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Community Financial System in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Community Financial System in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Community Financial System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st.

Community Financial System Stock Performance

Shares of Community Financial System stock opened at $63.94 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 0.78. Community Financial System has a 12 month low of $51.12 and a 12 month high of $67.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The bank reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $213.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.36 million. Community Financial System had a net margin of 21.26% and a return on equity of 11.24%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Community Financial System will post 4.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Community Financial System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Community Financial System’s payout ratio is presently 45.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Community Financial System

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CBU. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Community Financial System in the 4th quarter valued at $38,993,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Community Financial System by 132.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 636,257 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,310,000 after buying an additional 363,012 shares during the period. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. increased its stake in Community Financial System by 740.1% in the 4th quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 401,450 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,059,000 after buying an additional 353,663 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Community Financial System in the 2nd quarter valued at $15,185,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Community Financial System by 10,989.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 200,049 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,491,000 after buying an additional 198,245 shares during the period. 73.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Community Financial System Company Profile

Community Financial System (NYSE: CBU) is the bank holding company for Community Bank, National Association, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in DeWitt, New York. Through its principal subsidiary, the company offers a range of banking and financial services designed to meet the needs of both consumer and business clients. Its organizational structure centers on community-based banking operations supported by centralized technology, risk management and administrative functions.

The company’s product offerings include deposit accounts, residential and commercial mortgage loans, commercial and consumer lending, treasury and cash management services, and electronic banking.