Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Has Lowered Expectations for Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) Stock Price

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) had its target price lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $70.00 to $68.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 5.15% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on CBU. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Community Financial System from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Community Financial System in a 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, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Community Financial System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.25.

Community Financial System Price Performance

CBU stock opened at $64.67 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $65.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.11. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.76. Community Financial System has a 1 year low of $51.12 and a 1 year high of $71.11.

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.02). Community Financial System had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 21.79%.The company had revenue of $218.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $221.77 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Community Financial System will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Community Financial System

In other news, Director Mark J. Bolus sold 12,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $816,797.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 94,060 shares in the company, valued at $6,302,020. This represents a 11.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Eric Stickels sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total transaction of $127,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 31,592 shares in the company, valued at $2,021,256.16. This represents a 5.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Community Financial System

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CBU. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Community Financial System by 507.0% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 522 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Community Financial System by 38.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 541 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Community Financial System by 177.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 781 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the period. Lipe & Dalton purchased a new position in shares of Community Financial System in the 4th quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Community Financial System in the first quarter valued at $102,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.79% of the company’s stock.

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.