Brokerages Set Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) PT at $69.75

Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four 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 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $70.25.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Community Financial System from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Community Financial System in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Community Financial System from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Community Financial System from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Community Financial System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Community Financial System

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CBU. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Community Financial System by 38.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 541 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Community Financial System by 0.4% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 48,580 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,763,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Community Financial System by 1.0% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 20,468 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in Community Financial System by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 12,205 shares of the bank’s stock worth $701,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Community Financial System by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,032 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $577,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.79% of the company’s stock.

Community Financial System Stock Performance

CBU stock opened at $64.67 on Friday. Community Financial System has a fifty-two week low of $51.12 and a fifty-two week high of $71.11. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $218.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $221.77 million. Community Financial System had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 21.79%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Community Financial System will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Community Financial System Increases Dividend

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

About Community Financial System

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.