Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on CBU. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Community Financial System from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Community Financial System in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Community Financial System from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Community Financial System from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.50.

Community Financial System Price Performance

Shares of Community Financial System stock opened at $65.06 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a PE ratio of 15.10 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $65.91 and a 200 day moving average of $63.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Community Financial System has a 12 month low of $53.46 and a 12 month high of $71.11.

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $218.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $221.77 million. Community Financial System had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 21.79%.The business’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.04 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Community Financial System will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Community Financial System Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Community Financial System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Community Financial System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.48%.

Insider Activity

In other Community Financial System news, Director Eric Stickels sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total value of $127,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 31,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,021,256.16. The trade was a 5.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark J. Bolus sold 12,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $816,797.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 94,060 shares in the company, valued at $6,302,020. This represents a 11.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Community Financial System during the 2nd quarter worth $507,210,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Community Financial System in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,993,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Community Financial System in the second quarter valued at about $36,523,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Community Financial System by 132.9% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 636,257 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,310,000 after acquiring an additional 363,012 shares during the period. Finally, Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Community Financial System by 740.1% in the fourth quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 401,450 shares of the bank’s stock worth $23,059,000 after acquiring an additional 353,663 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.79% of the company’s stock.

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.